Malcolm Butler had coverage on Emmanuel Sanders all day. (Chris Humphreys/USA TODAY Sports)
DENVER — This season, there was no heroic ending for Malcolm Butler. There was only the emptiness that comes with a loss in the season’s penultimate game.
The second-year corner had one of the best performances of a day filled with great defense from the Patriots but in the end it wasn’t enough to stop the Broncos from walking away with a 20-18 win in the AFC championship.
“It’s most definitely different from last year,” Butler said. “I’m upset but then again, not really. Everybody went out there and we played to the end. It came all the way down to the end, but that’s just the nature of the game. You win some; you lose some.
“We’ve just got to bounce back and come back next year strong. It came down to the end. I’m not upset. I am but I’m not because I saw us out there fighting. I saw both teams fighting. Especially that we fought to the end, I can’t ask for anything better.”
The Patriots defensive effort was the biggest and best takeaway from Sunday’s loss, as they allowed 99 yards rushing, 80 yards less than in the Week 12 overtime loss in Denver.
“We didn’t do a great job of stopping the run the first game,” Butler said. “That was the mindset coming in, stopping the run. We just had to hold up on the back end. I think we did the best we could.
“Not anything different. We’ve just got to go out there and make the plays,” Butler said. “We just came up short. That’s a good team. I think we played them well. It just came down to a certain amount of plays.”
Butler defended Emmanuel Sanders all day, holding him to five catches on eight targets and 62 yards. Butler also made several big tackles, including one on a third-down run by C.J. Anderson that forced a punt in Patriots territory.
As for the passing game, Peyton Manning finished with just 176 yards and 17 completions on the day. But in the end, Manning was able to find Owen Daniels for a pair of touchdowns that put the Broncos up, 14-6.
“I never doubted Peyton since all the little buzz about him,” Butler said. “Great player went out there today and played a good game. Salute to him.”
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