ENGLEWOOD, Colo. –The Broncos are traveling to Foxborough. Again.
"I actually did ask that question and then I was reassured that it'll flip in the future," Head Coach John Fox said. "So when exactly that is, I'm not really sure. But I'm kind of a one-week-at-a-time guy so I don't want to confuse myself."
In Fox's tenure as the Broncos' head coach, only one regular season game between the rivals has been played in Denver, back in 2011. This will be their third consecutive season with a regular season trip to Foxborough, and the results haven't been great. Since Fox become the Broncos' coach, the team has gone 1-4 against the Patriots, with the lone win coming in the AFC Championship game in January, sending the Broncos to the Super Bowl.
The Broncos know they have a tough task ahead of them.
"I mean, it's a good team," Ronnie Hillman said. "Then you add the element of their environment; It makes it worse. You just got to come in there focused and ready to strap up your helmet."
Both teams are coming off big wins, as the Broncos defeated the Chargers 35-21 on Thursday and the Patriots dominated the Bears, 51-23.
During the Patriots' win, Tom Brady completed 30-of-35 passes for 354 yards and five touchdowns. Three of those touchdown scores went to Rob Gronkowski. With a completion percentage of 85.7, the best of his career, Brady had one of the best games of his career.
The last time the Broncos won in Foxborough was in 2006. Chris Harris Jr. said Brady is the main reason it is so tough to win there.
Aqib Talib will head to Foxborough to face the Patriots for the first time since he signed with the Broncos. Check out photos of him and the Broncos from Monday's practice.
"He just turns his game up to another level at home and so we've got to try to take our game up another level on the road," Harris said. "It's always harder. We came out and we started out fast on them last year. So we've just got to – if we can start out fast again and just maintain that the whole game, that'd be good for us."
During the AFC Championship game, the Broncos got out to a 20-3 halftime lead. While losses to the Dolphins and Chiefs put the Patriots' status as one of the top AFC teams in question, Sunday's win proved that Brady and Co. are still a dominant team.
The Broncos know that they can't take the Patriots lightly, no matter what their record is. While the Broncos were able to hold the Patriots to 320 yards to their 507 in the AFC title game, Harris said there's little to take from last year's win.
"Man the thing about New England, they're going to come with a new gameplan," Harris said. "They do every year. It's never the same gameplan and so you've got to be ready for everything, especially going against them. When we see the Chargers, we know we're going to see a lot of similarities, but you play the Patriots, they change up their whole gameplan."
Fox said while many will focus on the showdown between Peyton Manning and Brady, he noted that this game is the Broncos versus the Patriots, not a quarterback showdown.
"I think both teams are familiar with each other's systems, both offensively and defensively. I think obviously every year the roster changes so that's not new. I think we've struggled to beat them at their place. We won the last contest, they won the last contest at their place so it will be a huge test for both teams, obviously an important conference game for both teams and we're looking forward to the opportunity."
