Patriots-Broncos missing Manning
Osweiler to fill in for injured quarterback as New England go to Denver intent on extending run
Tom Brady versus Brock Osweiler just doesn’t have the same NFL Hall of Fame ring to it.
Still, when Brady leads his undefeated New England Patriots into Denver on Monday morning (Thai time), the game will have plenty of significance. And no one should write off the Broncos’ chances, even with the untested Osweiler substituting for Peyton Manning.
Osweiler’s first NFL start was a victory at Chicago last week. Manning is mending a variety of ailments, and will probably miss another two weeks.
Brady says he will miss matching up with his long-time rival quarterback. But he’ll likely miss not having some key parts on offence, particularly injured wide receiver Julian Edelman, who is out, and receiver Danny Amendola, who is unlikely to play.
“There’s nobody that has more respect for Peyton than me, outside of probably his parents, his brother,’’ Brady says. “If anybody can appreciate what Peyton has accomplished, it’s me.’’
Brady has won five of his last six games against Denver, passing for 17 touchdowns and two interceptions. Brady is four touchdown passes from surpassing Dan Marino for third on the all-time list with 421.
The stats don’t phase the Broncos. Osweiler’s ability to run coach Gary Kubiak’s trademark bootlegs and rollouts, the addition of bruising blocker Richard Gordon, and the increasingly bigger role played by the tight ends, have given the Broncos a more diversified offence than just two weeks ago.
Two more teams to watch in Week 12 meet in Seattle, where the Pittsburgh Steelers visit. They are 3-0 against the NFC West this season, and Ben Roethlisberger is 3-0 in his career against the Seahawks, including a Super Bowl win. He was forced into emergency action when Landry Jones went down two weeks ago against Cleveland, and performed impressively on a dicey ankle.
He has plenty of offensive help in receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, and running back DeAngelo Hall, subbing well for the injured Le’Veon Bell.
Seattle seems to have discovered a new star at running back, Thomas Rawls. With Marshawn Lynch out last weekend, Rawls rushed for 209 yards against the San Francisco 49ers, the second-best game in franchise history.
The Seahawks have rushed for 100 yards as a team in 21 straight games.
“He’s done very well and been consistent,’’ Seahawks coach Pete Carroll says of Rawls. “Whenever he’s been given a real good shot, he’s come through in a big way.’’
The 49ers have another divisional game, this time at home against the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona annihilated the 49ers 47-7 in September. The Cardinals are just as good and the 49ers have nose-dived even more.
The Cardinals have won four in a row to take hold of the NFC West, but they haven’t won in San Francisco in seven years. Their balanced offence, with a revitalized Chris Johnson running the ball, Carson Palmer connecting with Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown, will severely test the 49ers.
Niners linebacker NaVorro Bowman likes the sight of Arizona. Bowman, who leads the NFC with 97 tackles in a comeback season from knee surgery, has 25 tackles, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries in his last three meetings with the Cardinals.
The action began with the traditional Thanksgiving Thursday games.
Carolina remained unbeaten and sent Dallas quarterback Tony Romo to the sidelines with another left collarbone injury. The Panthers stretched their NFL-best winning streak to 15 regular-season games with a 33-14 victory over Dallas.
Green Bay was stunned 17-13 by the Chicago Bears, who held off the Packers on fourth-and-goal from the 8 with 22 seconds left. And Detroit kept its revival going with a 45-14 rout of Philadelphia. The Lions have won three straight, and the Eagles are on a three-game losing streak.