The Broncos are 8-6, still atop the AFC West after the Oakland Raiders were beaten in the final minute by Detroit, 28-27.
Welker caught 118 passes for 1, 354 yards and scored six touchdowns last year, helping the Pats go 12-4 and make the AFC title game before they also fell to Baltimore.
Wednesday's match was a group-stage tie in the AFC Cup, the Asian Football Confederation's second-tier club tournament.
When the referee awarded AFC Blackpool a free-kick on the edge of the Darwen penalty area, Martin Parker was shown a second yellow card for throwing the ball down and voicing his displeasure at the decision.
The Jets edition of "Hard Knocks" was foul-mouthed, unapologetic and often irresistible, and the R-rated club went right back out and reached the AFC championship again.
Ryan usually has reserved his most over-the-top praise for Sanchez, the quarterback who started his career with two straight AFC title-game appearances but is known more now for entering the term "buttfumble" into America's lexicon.
Though two NFC teams lead our list, the AFC makes up its bulk: seven of the 11 teams (there is a three-way tie for ninth) are from the AFC.
One of the biggest ovations in the AFC Championship came when someone held up 3-foot-high cutouts of her initials for all of Gillette Stadium to see.
It was reported in March by Ian Rapoport that the league was considering some changes to its all-star game, such as letting the AFC and NFC captains pick their teams.
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The selection of Smith by new general manager John Idzik seriously clouds the future of Sanchez, the team's first-rounder in 2009 who led the Jets to consecutive AFC championship game appearances but has struggled mightily the past two seasons.
On his second try, Folk drilled the kick, providing an ugly if important 23-20 victory and delivering a satisfying end to what could turn out to be a bittersweet day for the Jets, who are 2-1 this season and in first place in the AFC East.
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Ryan is the more NFL-accomplished of the duo, having guided the Jets to consecutive AFC championships in his first two seasons as head coach.
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Other proposals include elimination of the so-called "tuck rule" which came into playing during the 2002 AFC divisional playoffs between New England and Oakland.
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New England is now 11-3 and champs of the AFC East, with a real shot at the conference's top record and home field through the playoffs.
Under Parcells, they had two winning seasons in three years, going 12-4 in 1998 and reaching the AFC championship game.
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This Ravens season is bigger than Ray's Coda, and nowhere is it clearer than at quarterback, where the low-fi quarterback Joe Flacco will finally get due recognition after a half decade in the AFC shadows.
The invitational Cup was established by Supporters Direct in 2002, and the first ever final was won by AFC Wimbledon - who have won it three times.
All six QBs were drafted by AFC teams, the conference (or league, pre-merger) that had won 11 of the first 17 Super Bowls, including eight of nine from 1973 to 1981.
Sunderland AFC would not comment on this, but confirmed the Londonderry-born player was no longer on Twitter.
The AFC's top seed, New England, is 13-3 and has won eight in a row despite a pass defense that couldn't slow down a Nerf game on the beach.
It sent AFC Wimbledon - formed in 2002 by fans opposed to the Football Association's decision to allow 1988 FA Cup winners Wimbledon FC to move to Milton Keynes - into the second round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history.
Last season's beaten play-off finalists AFC Telford will host Blyth Spartans while Southport start the league at home to Gloucester City.
Earlier Thursday, a judge overturned the NFL's four-game suspension against Brady stemming from the infamous "deflate-gate" involving deflated footballs during this year's AFC championship game.
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But he made a dramatic return prior to the AFC Wild Card round wearing an arm brace and made a team-high 13 tackles as the Ravens defeated the Indianapolis Colts 24-9.
Woodson's return to the Raiders is puzzling in large part because of their established status as AFC also-ran along with his desire to win now, so late in his career.
Prior to the AFC and NFC Championships, I suggested that the Super Bowl match-up that would likely have the most people chomping at the bit would be the Ravens vs. 49ers.
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And while the Manchester based Red Devils currently lie at the head of the Premier League, their Sussex-based namesakes are doing equally well, lying just three points off top-spot in the Blue Square Bet Premier with four games in hand on leaders AFC Wimbledon.
But despite conceding that late equaliser, Oxford remain two points clear at the top, thanks to second-placed Stevenage being held 0-0 at home by fellow promotion-chasers AFC Wimbledon.
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