It looked like the Broncos were going to coast to a win in the AFC Championship game, but then Tom Brady did Tom Brady things, and Gronk Gronked his face off. The Broncos were punishing Brady with pressure on their final drive and forcing him into horrible throws just to avoid a sack. Then, when New England needed it most, he threw a perfect pass to Rob Gronkowski down the seam on fourth-and-ten. Gronk was double-covered, but he split both defenders and outran them to the ball, making an unbelievable catch as he went to the ground. It went for 40 yards and seemed to signal a dramatic shift. The Pats were gonna do it.
Then, on fourth-and-goal from the four, Brady found Gronk again for the touchdown with 12 seconds left. Now, however, that missed Gostkowski extra point loomed large and the Pats had to go for two. Aqib Talib got his hands on the pass and it popped up in the air for Bradley Roby to intercept it in the end zone. He ran it out and actually lost the ball on the play, but it didn't matter. The Broncos could have gotten two points if he returned it, but the play was otherwise dead.
Trailing by two points, the Pats tried a desperation onside kick, but the Broncos recovered to win 20-18. So Denver booked it's ticket to the Super Bowl and await the winner of Arizona and Carolina.[CBS]
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