(Reuters) - Peyton Manning outgunned great rival Tom Brady as the Denver Broncos, behind a ferocious defense, edged the defending champion New England Patriots 20-18 on Sunday to book their place in Super Bowl 50.
During the buildup to the AFC championship game in the Mile High City, the spotlight was fixed on Manning and Brady, the two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks who were meeting for the 17th, and perhaps final time on the gridiron.
But it was the Denver defense that stole the show, intercepting Brady twice in the opening half and making two crucial fourth down stops late in the fourth quarter to snuff out potentially game tying scoring drives, including one with just 2:18 on the clock.