Tim Tebow and the Broncos pulled off an overtime upset of the Steelers and will now travel to New England on a quick turnaround for a Saturday night tilt.
The most obvious storyline is that Josh McDaniels will now face the quarterback he drafted just two short seasons ago. Having McDaniels in the fold this time around should give the Patriots a little more insight into their personnel, but I don’t think it provides any overwhelming new advantage.
The Pats saw the Broncos firsthand and know what they can do, while also having a sense of how they might attack the Patriots defense. The systems and philosophies have changed since McDaniels was there, but he does know Tebow and a lot of the young personnel there. That can help, but as always it will come down to execution.
Defensively, the first question that comes to mind is do the Patriots open in the 3-4 defense that helped them shut down the Broncos after they were getting gashed early. Or will they go with the heavy four man front we’ve seen since Andre Carter went down in Ellis-Wilfork-Love-Deaderick.
Having Brandon Spikes and Patrick Chung back in the mix this time should be biggest new advantage that either team has, and with McDaniels’ new input the Pats should be strong favorites to end their playoff win drought.