A week after annihilating the Bears, the Patriots 7-2 Patriots faced off with the 6-1 Broncos for supremacy in the AFC. Unlike last season, the Broncos had a really good defense, with former Patriots Aqib Talib anchoring the secondary. This was also the  16th Brady-Manning match-up After the first three drives of the game ended in punts, Amendola waved for a fair catch at the Patriots 46-yard line, but Kayvon Webster was flagged 15 yards for interfering with Amendola, giving the Patriots the ball at the Denver 39. Despite the great field position, the Patriots failed to get a first down but Gostkowski got the Patriots on the board with a 49-yard field goal. Denver countered, storming 80 yards in just 9 plays, aided by a pass-interference penalty on Brandon Browner, on 3rd-and-10 before Ronnie Hillman punched in a 1-yard touchdown run for a 7-3 Broncos lead. The Patriots then drove 67 yards in 12 plays to reach the Broncos 11, but Denver's defense held the Patriots to a 29-yard field goal by Gostkowski. On the second play of Denver's ensuing drive, Ninkovich intercepted a pass and returned it 11 yards to the Broncos 34-yard line. With the wonderful field position, the Patriots marched 34 yards, with Brady throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Edelman. After forcing Denver to punt, Dustin Colquitt fumbled the snap, but managed to punt the ball away, Edelman fielded the ball on a bounce and returned the punt 84 yards for a touchdown, increasing the lead to 20-7. The Broncos marched 52 yards to the Patriots 23, but Broncos kicker Brandon McManus missed a 41-yard field goal. The Broncos forced a punt and drove to the Patriots 34-yard line. On 4th-and-6, instead of kicking a 51-yard field goal, the Broncos went for it but Manning was sacked by Akeem Ayers. With pretty good field position, the Patriots to march 57 yards in 9 plays with Vereen scoring on a 5-yard touchdown reception with 0:08 remaining in the half. Manning took a knee and the Patriots led 27-7 at halftime, the Broncos largest deficit of the season. On the first drive of the second half, Brady was intercepted by Bradley Roby at the Broncos 43 (his first turnover since Week 4).  Manning drove the Broncos 57 yards, hitting Demaryius Thomas for 27 yards on 3rd-and-6 and then tight end Julius Thomas for an 18-yard touchdown pass, closing the gap to 27-14. The Patriots responded again, driving to the Broncos 27 and Gostkowski increased the lead to 30-14 on a 45-yard field goal. On the Broncos next possession, Browner intercepted Manning at the Broncos 40 and returned it 30 yards to the Broncos 10. On the very next play, Brady hit LaFell for a 10-yard touchdown pass, making the game a shocking blowout with a 37-14 score. Aided by three Patriots penalties, the Broncos stormed 72 yards in just four plays with Hillman catching a 15-yard touchdown pass, trimming the deficit to 37-21. Once again The Patriots struck right back, with Tom Brady driving the Patriots 80 yards, using 14 plays, and taking 6:53 off the clock before connecting with Rob Gronkowski on a 1-yard touchdown pass, with a missed two point conversion, increasing the lead to 43-21. The Broncos turned the ball over on downs on three straight drives as the Patriots cruised to the sixth straight win. Tom Brady completed 33 of 53 passes for 333 yards, with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. Rob Gronkowski had 9 catches for 105 yards and 1 TD, and Julian Edelman added 9 catches for 89 yards and a TD. Peyton Manning was 34 of 57 for 438 yards and 2 touchdowns, but added 2 interceptions. Both running games struggled, limited to 109 combined yards on the ground. With the win, the Patriots took the lead in the race for the AFC's #1 seed, which they would not relinquish, and made them the team to beat in the AFC. It was Tom Brady's eleventh win in sixteen career meetings against Manning and was the Patriots' largest margin of victory over Manning since 2001.. Which quarterback threw more touchdowns, Manning or Brady?