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Patriots, Broncos buck NFL trends

The AFC Championship pits two bitter rivals reaching for the Super Bowl while rewriting the rules of pro football history in the process.

The Broncos will attempt to execute a statistical miracle and win a conference title with the NFL’s most ineffective quarterback. It has never been done.

No team has ever donned a conference crown — let alone won a Super Bowl — with a quarterback who rates the very worst in the game.

Yet the Broncos are betting that gimpy old warhorse Peyton Manning has enough giddy-up left for one or two more gut-check wins before putting him out of his misery.