Peyton Manning Backwards Pass Mistake Gets New England Back in the Game
By Jason McIntyre
The Patriots had done nothing on their first three drives against the Broncos defense, but thanks to a critical Peyton Manning mistake, they quickly got back in the AFC Championship. Manning tried to throw a swing pass to Ronnie Hillman, but the pass was actually behind the line of scrimmage, and the Patriots pounced on it.
The pass was initially ruled “incomplete.”
But the Patriots wisely challenged, and it was overturned. (Mike Carey, the CBS referee “expert,” got it wrong again.). A few plays later, Steven Jackson ran in from one yard out for the first postseason touchdown of his career. A missed extra-point left it Denver 7, New England 6.