FOXBOROUGH, mass. — The Broncos can change a safety. They can sign a proven cornerback in free agency. They can even add a quarterback headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But they still can't keep the Patriots from running all over their defense.




"It's matchups, and once you get the little guys out there, it's more inviting to run against," said Broncos coach John Fox.

"A lot of people key on (Brady)," said Patriots running back Stevan Ridley. "And our running back group has to get some pressure off him so he can be the quarterback he can be. We're taking pride in that."

What went right



"You see times when we get that pressure and we hold coverage in the back end. You see what happens even to a quarterback as great as Brady," said cornerback Champ Bailey. "And when we do that, you see what we can be. But we don't do it enough. We're just not consistent enough."

What went wrong

The Broncos saw the Patriots top 140 yards rushing in each of their two matchups last season, the second meeting being a second-round postseason rout. And they saw the Patriots do most of that damage to Denver's nickel (five defensive backs) package.

New England&#8217;s Stevan Ridley breaks away from the Denver defense Sunday. The Patriots rushed for 251 yards in their 31-21 victory.




"That just kills you. You give up third-and-20 on a run play," Bailey said. "People get lucky and get it passing, but you can't give that up on a run play and expect to win."

Said linebacker Joe Mays: "Execute, that's all. We knew what they were going to do. We saw it on film. We knew about it all, and they still caught us off guard. We didn't execute."


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