Toomer: Broncos need to make Brady ‘uncomfortable’ to beat Patriots

Throw out the 11-2 season. And a strong win against the Baltimore Ravens. And a crucial loss to the Tennessee Titans. And a possible third MVP honor for a Hall of Fame-bound quarterback.

If the Denver Broncos can harass Tom Brady on Sunday, throwing him off his game and making him uncomfortable, they can win.

At least that’s what former New York Giants wide receiver and NBC Sports analyst Amani Toomer, who has a strong history of beating Brady in big games (see Super Bowl XLII), told Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan’s Sandy Clough on Wednesday.

Toomer said that despite how it appears with an 8-5 Broncos team taking on an 11-2 Patriots team that put up huge offensive numbers in a win over the Ravens, Denver has a “great shot” at taking down New England on Sunday afternoon.

“What it takes to beat the Patriots is a great defensive line and a great pass rush, and that’s exactly what they have,” Toomer said. “So, when I look at this matchup, I don’t care what happened last week. I don’t care that they beat the Ravens. I don’t care that the Broncos got beat by Tennessee. I’m looking at the matchup. And the fact that your strength is their weakness … that gives you a shot.”

Through 13 games, the Broncos rank atop the NFL in terms of pass defense, giving up just 183.5 yards per game with a touchdown percentage of 2.2, also the best in the league.

Denver (38) also trails just the Carolina Panthers for the most sacks (39), though they lead the league in sack percentage, taking down the quarterback 7.8 percent of the time when he drops back.

And though the Patriots come in at No. 5 in terms of total offense, and No. 4 in passing offense, Toomer said making something out of nothing isn’t Brady’s game and forcing him off kilter could help Denver exploit that.

“I think Von Miller has to have a huge game. And I think that Shane Ray seems to be coming along as well. But that’s where you have to beat the Patriots,” Toomer said. “They don’t have a running game. You’ve just got to make sure he gets the ball out of his hand quickly and he’s uncomfortable.”

For whatever reason, the future Hall of Famer has struggled against the orange and blue in his career. Brady has a losing record overall in 11 regular season games against the Broncos (5-6), along with a 2-7 record in Denver including playoff games.

But if the Patriots win on Sunday, they’ll wrap up the AFC East once again, which is motivation enough, not to mention they’ll likely seek some retribution after being beaten up in the AFC Championship by Miller and company last season.

However, if Denver can pull off the upset, they’ll have notched one of three crucial wins down the stretch toward a postseason berth.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.