AFC Divisional Playoffs Game Thread #3: Patriots Take Dominating Halftime Lead Over Broncos

Note: This is an official Pats Pulpit game thread.

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AFC Divisional Playoffs Game Thread

New England Patriots (#1) vs. Denver Broncos (#4)

Saturday, January 14th, 2012 | 8:00 PM ET | TV: CBS

Broncos Coverage: Mile High Report

Wow.

The past few weeks, we've talked about the Patriots and their slow starts on both sides of the ball. After one half in the AFC Divisional Playoffs, the Patriots are leading the Denver Broncos 35-7.

35-7. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has five touchdown throws. Three of them to Rob Gronkowski, one to Welker, and one on a beautiful sideline bomb to veteran receiver Deion Branch.

We've said Tom Brady is a man on a mission this year, and he's been having a heck of a game today. He already has a career high in playoff touchdown passes, and if he continues to produce, could break a lot of playoff records.

Defensively, the Patriots have switched to the 3-4 and have been dominating. They've had some struggles tackling Willis McGahee, but are dominating in the trenches and applying pressure to Tim Tebow. The only touchdown they allowed was on a very short field following a Tom Brady interception.

This game isn't over. There's 30 minutes to play. The Patriots have played the best first half of the year, but this is the playoffs and the Broncos have shown they can handle adversity. But all things considered, the Patriots couldn't have possibly hoped to have gotten off to a better start than they have.