Denver: Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts derailed Denver’s bid for Super Bowl redemption on Sunday, ousting the Broncos from the NFL play-offs 24-13.
The Broncos were humbled 43-8 by the Seattle Seahawks in last season’s Super Bowl.
While the Seahawks have reached the National Football Conference title game to remain in the running for a return to the NFL’s championship showcase, it’s the Colts who will take on the New England Patriots next Sunday for the American Football Conference crown and a spot in the February 1 Super Bowl in suburban Phoenix, Arizona.
Luck, who took over from current Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning in Indianapolis when the Colts parted ways with the veteran, threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns and piloted a decisive drive that took 8:14 off the clock in the fourth quarter to book the Colts’ first trip to the conference championship since 2009.
Indianapolis’s defence limited Denver to 288 yards — 115 fewer than their season average. The Broncos had won all eight of the regular-season home games by an average of almost 15 points.
Manning, a superstar quarterback and future Hall of Famer whose post-season resume is nevertheless uneven, fell to 11-13 in the play-offs.
He threw a touchdown pass on Denver’s opening possession, but looked tense and tentative much of the night as he completed barely half of his attempts (26 of 46) and threw for just 211 yards.
“All in all, you get into play-off football, you have to play your ‘A’ game, and we didn’t have it today,” Broncos coach John Fox said. “You win and lose as a team, and I’ll leave it at that.”
Luck won’t have much time to savor the success, with a huge challenge awaiting next week in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The Patriots routed the Colts 42-20 in the regular season and ousted them in the second round of last season’s play-offs 43-22.
Luck is 0-3 in his career against the Patriots.
Denver trailed 14-10 at half-time and turned the ball over on downs on their first two possessions of the second half.
In between, Luck guided the Colts on an 11-play, 72-yard scoring drive. Two third-down passes to keep the march alive included an arching toss to tight end Coby Fleener between three defenders for a 32-yard gain.
He capped the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks in the end zone for a 21-10 Indianapolis lead.
The Broncos cut the deficit with a field goal early in the fourth quarter, but the Colts responded with a field goal of their own with 4:06 remaining and the Broncos could make nothing happen after that.
