Fox Recalls Simple Decision as Biggest of the Season, Let Alone, Perhaps, His Life.

Patriots, Broncos overcame plenty of obstacles

It's a wonder the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos made it this far. Bill Belichick's smarts and Tom Brady's tenacity always seems to trump tribulation. This season, they brushed aside the Tim Tebow distraction and overcame Aaron Hernandez's arrest and the losses of Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo to put the Patriots (13-4) into the AFC championship for the third straight year.

''I'd have been 60 miles out in the woods,'' Fox said. ''They might never have found me.''

Of all the decisions coach John Fox made that kept the Denver Broncos rolling through a drama-filled season, one was an absolute life-saver. Instead of going out on his fishing boat for some solitude during his team's bye week, Fox decided to play 18 holes with some buddies some 200 yards from his offseason home in Charlotte, N.C. ''I'd have been 60 miles out in the woods,'' Fox said. ''They might never have found me.'' Fox had just seen his cardiologist in Raleigh, who told him he'd still be able to delay his heart operation until after the Super Bowl so long as he didn't feel faint or short of breath in the meantime.

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