Defensive deception that got Manning

Nancy Lane/Boston Herald

Peyton Manning looked confused at times against the Patriots defense. The biggest example would be the first interception Manning threw, which Rob Ninkovich was on the right end of for New England. I suggested that when it happened that Ninkovich used the "Hey, I'm on your team!" trick because Peyton and his intended target, Demaryius Thomas, looked so out of sync on the play, but Peyton was fooled, plain and simple.

It was a great play by Ninkovich, but it was also great disguised coverage by Bill Belichick. Here's what Darrelle Revis had to say, per the Boston Herald:

“We just switched things up, disguised very well,” cornerback Darrelle Revis said. “The whole defense did. We just gave him different looks to not just be stale out there. Because if you’re definitely going to be stale against Peyton, he’ll figure it out just like that, and he’ll tear a defense apart. We wanted to mix it up, and we did a very good job of disguising across the board.”

The Patriots scheme also stumped the Broncos on several third-and-long downs, which resulted in Broncos punts. The Patriots ability to mix it up all game long is what enabled the Pats to have success all night and hold the normally proflic Denver offense to 3 touchdowns and force 2 interceptions as well. I'll leave you with this thought from the Herald's Jeff Howe to finish:

It was a defensive guru’s gem.

It was exactly that.

Thoughts? Let me know on Twitter or leave a comment.