Well, Denver finished this game very strong, which ultimately led to a 23-16 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. "He missed a post route I know he'd like to have back to [Demaryius Thomas] that could have been a big play early in the game", Kubiak said Monday.

After injuring the AC joint and surrounding ligaments in a Wild Card win against the Bengals, Roethlisberger completed 24-of-37 passes for 339 yards against the Broncos, but did not throw a touchdown.

The rivalry is sometimes called the "War of 1812", referring to the players' numbers - Manning wears No. 18 and Brady wears No. 12.

With Denver advancing to the AFC Championship Game against New England, another showdown looms between Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and his Patriots counterpart, Tom Brady.

-Manning's longest completion in Sunday's game involved improvisation and the seat of his trousers.

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, left, greets Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after the Broncos defeated the Steelers in an NFL football divisional playoff game, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, in Denver.

"The best thing we did, we stayed patient all game". They made a great play, so you have to give them credit.

Peyton Manning back to pass. Falls down. He's also the Patriots' all-time leader in the following categories: passing touchdowns, passing yards, pass completions, pass attempts, career wins, games played.

The Pro Bowl quarterback had promised to play if he could and said if he couldn't throw 25-30 yards downfield he'd be hurting the team. "We told them once who they were named after, but then they went from there".

There are plenty of mistakes that Denver made in this game that need to be fixed before facing New England.

STEPPING UP: With no Antonio Brown (concussion), Ben Roethlisberger found another big-play receiver in Martavis Bryant, who caught nine passes for 154 yards. "Our defense answered the challenge, I'm honored to be a part of it". That was important, we protected him pretty well.

GREENE: So is this really a moment where, you know, we could see the changing of the guard.

The Patriots are playing the AFC Championship for the fifth consecutive seasons, something accomplished only by the 1970s Oakland Raiders.

"They're one of the best teams in the AFC", Broncos linebacker Von Miller said.