Patriots: Revisiting the Insane 2013 Comeback Win Over Broncos

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots stole the Denver Broncos’ thunder on Nov. 24, 2013.

Where were you on a Sunday night in November of 2013, when Tom Brady and the Patriots stole Peyton Manning’s soul one more time in essentially 45 minutes of football?

The 16th installment of Manning-Brady, one that we thought might never come when Manning’s neck procedures ended his Colts career and put him in unfamiliar orange, might as well have lasted only one half, as far as Pats Nation was concerned.

The high-flying Broncos took a 24-0 lead at the break, and that’s when the fun began.

Manning’s lead was built on a Von Miller fumble return, a Knowshon Moreno ru–ah, blah, blah, blah, right? It’s all just window dressing for the GOAT’s table-turn, after all.

Brady’s first TD pass came with 11:26 left in the third quarter, when he hit Julian Edelman (duh) on a five-yard strike. Next, Brandon Bolden rushed one in, and when Gronk snagged a tuddy of his own with under a minute left in the quarter, it was clear Manning had gone cold in a cloud of Foxborough breath…again.

The Pats, in fact, snagged a 31-24 lead, scoring 31 unanswered capped by Edelman TD Catch No. 2 and a Space Ghost field goal, before letting Demaryius Thomas into the end zone to tie the game with 3:06 remaining.

Never fear, though — overtime, and Wes Welker’s frigid mittens, were here to save the Pats again, just when the announcers were preparing all their best sister-kissing tie jokes.

Welker attempted to wave off his teammates on one final punt return, but his anguished cries went ignored — the ball bounced off Bronco Tony Carter, New England recovered, and one final field goal sent everyone home.

Brady’s 2013 season featured some of his all-time strangest games (Remember the last-second Browns comeback? The Kenbrell Thompkins TD?), but ultimately, it sometimes gets forgotten due to the absence of a ring. Let’s not let this pantsing of Peyton go by the wayside.

This year, as New England looks to turn over an entirely new leaf and build a new era as the last, glorious one takes its final Brady breaths, let’s take plenty of time to reflect on the good that the last 20 years have brought us. Because there was a lot of it.