Tom Brady had heard enough. Tim Tebow this, Tebow that. Tebow is the greatest quarterback ever, and he was going to come into GIllette Stadium and kick the teeth out of the New England Patriots. Tebow was the greatest quarterback ever.
Well, evidently, Brady wanted to prove a point. And boy, did he ever.
Brady tied an NFL record with six touchdown passes while throwing for 363 yards on 26-of-34 passing as the New England Patriots stomped out Tebow Time (again) and crushed the Denver Broncos, 45-10, in the AFC Divisional Round on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA.
Brady's massive performance only had one drawback, an interception, which led to Denver's first touchdown. New England amassed 509 total yards (363 passing, 146 rushing) while giving up 252 yards to Denver (363 passing, 146rushing).
Rob Gronkowski racked up 145 yards and three scores on 10 catches for New England. Deion Branch had 85 receiving yards on three catches. Aaron Hernandez had four catches for 55 yards and one touchdown and rushed for a team-high 61 yards on five carries for the Patriots.
Tebow finished the game with 136 passing yards on 9-of-26 passing. Willis McGahee had 76 rushing yards and one touchdown on 17 carries and Demaryius Thomas caught six passes for 93 yards in the Broncos' loss.
The Patriots opened the game with a quick score, with Brady finding Wes Welker (55 yards, TD) for a seven-yard touchdown catch with 13:14 to go in the first quarter, putting the Pats up 7-0. Brady then connected with Gronkowski for a 10-yard score with 7:17 left in the opening quarter.
After Brady's interception, the Broncos marched 24 yards on four plays and scored on a five-yard run from McGahee, cutting the Patriots' lead in half, 14-7, at the start of the second quarter. From then on out, it was all Brady.
Brady connected again with Gronkowski for a 12-yard touchdown with 7:49 left in the second and fired touchdowns to Branch (a 61-yard score with 2:06 left) and found Gronkowski again on a 19-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds left before halftime to give New England a 35-7 advantage at the break.
In the third quarter, Brady threw a 17-yard touchdown to Hernandez with 11:53 to go and Matt Prater split the uprights on a 41-yard field goal, which cut the Broncos' deficit to 32 points. Stephen Gostkowski made his only field goal attempt of the game in the fourth quarter, connecting from 20 yards out with 12:44 to play in the game.
New England faces the winner of the Texans and Ravens in the AFC Championship Game.
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