2015 Conference Championship · Sun, Jan 24, 2016 · Sports Authority Field at Mile High

New England Patriots

Denver BroncosWinner

NE -2.5 upsetU 45 ✓Patriots closed -2.5 and lost outright — an upset against the closing number.

Denver Broncos 20–18 — decided on the final possessions.

Pre-2018 game — box score & context only; play-by-play visuals start in 2018

Who moved the needle

Top performers

Passing · NE

Tom BradyQB

27/56, 310 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT

-11.1 expected points added · -13.3% completion over expected

Passing · DEN

Peyton ManningQB

17/32, 176 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT

-2.5 expected points added · -4.3% completion over expected

Rushing · DEN

C.J. AndersonRB

16 att, 72 yds, 0 TD

-3.8 expected points added on the ground

Rushing · DEN

Ronnie HillmanRB

11 att, 16 yds, 0 TD

-5.1 expected points added on the ground

Receiving · NE

Rob GronkowskiTE

8/15 for 144 yds, 1 TD

27% of team targets · 3.6 expected points added

Receiving · DEN

Emmanuel SandersWR

5/8 for 62 yds, 0 TD

26% of team targets · 5.3 expected points added

Full stat lines

Box score

New England Patriots

Passing

Player	C/Att	Yds	TD	INT	Sacked	EPA
Tom Brady	27/56	310	1	2	4	-11.1

Rushing

Player	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	EPA
Tom Brady	3	13	4.3	0	2.2
Brandon Bolden	5	12	2.4	0	-1.5
James White	5	11	2.2	0	-2.3
Steven Jackson	4	8	2.0	1	-1.7

Receiving

Player	Rec	Tgt	Yds	TD	Tgt share	EPA
Rob Gronkowski	8	15	144	1	27%	3.6
Julian Edelman	7	13	53	0	23%	-3.7
James White	5	16	45	0	29%	-5.3
Danny Amendola	5	8	39	0	14%	-1.3
Brandon Bolden	2	3	29	0	5%	2.3
Keshawn Martin	0	1	0	0	2%	-0.4

Defense (top contributors)

Player	Solo	Ast	Sacks	PD
Jamie Collins	6	2	2.0	0
Jabaal Sheard	5	1	0.0	0
Dont'a Hightower	5	1	0.0	1
Malcolm Butler	5	1	0.0	2
Logan Ryan	5	0	0.0	1
Patrick Chung	3	2	0.0	0
Justin Coleman	4	0	0.0	1
Akiem Hicks	1	1	0.0	0
Brandon King	2	0	0.0	0
Rob Ninkovich	1	1	0.0	0

Denver Broncos

Passing

Player	C/Att	Yds	TD	INT	Sacked	EPA
Peyton Manning	17/32	176	2	0	3	-2.5

Rushing

Player	Att	Yds	Avg	EPA
C.J. Anderson	16	72	4.5	-3.8
Ronnie Hillman	11	16	1.5	-5.1
Peyton Manning	3	11	3.7	-4.3

Receiving

Player	Rec	Tgt	Yds	TD	Tgt share	EPA
Emmanuel Sanders	5	8	62	0	26%	5.3
Owen Daniels	2	3	33	2	10%	5.3
C.J. Anderson	3	3	18	0	10%	-0.1
Jordan Norwood	2	3	16	0	10%	0.6
Andre Caldwell	1	1	15	0	3%	0.9
Cody Latimer	1	1	13	0	3%	0.8
Demaryius Thomas	2	7	12	0	23%	-4.8
Ronnie Hillman	1	2	7	0	6%	-0.7
Virgil Green	0	1	0	0	3%	-0.8
Bennie Fowler	0	1	0	0	3%	-1.5
Vernon Davis	0	1	0	0	3%	-0.7

Defense (top contributors)

Player	Solo	Ast	Sacks	INT	PD
Chris Harris	4	2	0.0	0	1
Josh Bush	1	5	0.0	0	1
Derek Wolfe	6	0	1.0	0	1
T.J. Ward	1	5	0.0	0	0
Von Miller	4	1	2.5	1	1
Aqib Talib	4	1	0.0	0	2
Danny Trevathan	3	1	0.0	0	1
Brandon Marshall	3	1	0.0	0	1
Shiloh Keo	3	0	0.0	0	0
Darian Stewart	1	2	0.0	1	1

Closing number vs result

Betting context

Closing spread: NE -2.5
Closing total: 45
NE moneyline: -128
DEN moneyline: +116

Patriots closed -2.5 and lost outright — an upset against the closing number.

Total closed 45; the game landed 38 — under by 7.0.

Conditions and crew

Game environment

Venue: Sports Authority Field at Mile High
Roof / surface: outdoors · grass
Kickoff weather: 46°F, wind 6 mph
Referee: Ed Hochuli
Rest: NE 8 days · DEN 7 days
Coaches: Bill Belichick vs Gary Kubiak