Patriots Denied Super Bowl Trip, Lose to Broncos

DENVER, CO - After a rough day for the New England offense, the New England Patriots will not go to the Super Bowl, losing to the Denver Broncos 20-18 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver.

Tom Brady threw for 310 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while Peyton Manning threw two touchdowns and 176 yards for the Broncos.

The end result was perhaps affected by a rare missed extra point by Stephen Gostkowski. After the Patriots cut the Denver lead to one on a two-yard Stephen Jackson run with 1:53 remaining in the first, a kick wide right kept the score 7-6.

Later in the fourth quarter down 20-12, New England on two drives outside the two-minute warning chose to pass on a field goal. With 6:03 remaining and a fourth and one on the Denver 16, a short pass to Edelman was stopped by Demarcus Ware for a loss of a yard. On the next New England drive, an incomplete pass to Rob Gronkowski in the end zone on a fourth and six from the Denver 14 once again gave the Broncos the ball.

After a three and out by Denver, New England received one more chance to tie the game and force overtime. A 40-yard pass to Gronkowski on fourth and 10 from midfield brought the Patriots down to the Denver 10, with Brady finding the tight end again, this time in the back of the end zone with 17 seconds to play.

The two-point conversion to tie the game, however, was intercepted by Bradley Roby.

New England finishes the season with a record of 13-5. Denver will play either the Carolina Panthers or Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl.