Harris: Regular Season Win Over Patriots Springboarded Broncos

DENVER (CBS4) - For any NFL player who is on a team that has made it this far into the postseason, there's a sense of excitement.

Broncos offensive lineman Ryan Harris is certainly excited to be in the AFC Championship game next Sunday, but he's also surprised by the sense of normalcy that he feels being on one of only four teams that are still alive in the playoffs.

"That's something that I'm going to take with me into my preparation and just prepare like any other game we've played and do everything I can to execute the game plan," said Harris on Xfinity Monday Live.

The nine year veteran says he and his teammates are all focused on one goal: defeating the Patriots and advancing to Super Bowl 50.

Although the Broncos have only played one game in the playoffs so far, Harris says the team has had an offseason-type focus for a while.

"We've really played three playoff games in our last three games," Harris said.

Those games were a 20-17 overtime win against the Cincinnati Bengals, a 27-20 defeat of the San Diego Chargers, and, of course, Sunday's 23-16 win over the Steelers.

One of the biggest regular season games for the Broncos came against the Patriots, who came to Denver with an undefeated record and wound up losing to the Broncos 30-24 in overtime.

"That game kind of springboarded us into where we are now. Being down 14 points in the fourth quarter against the Patriots is not a place you want to be. But we came back and won that game, and we won it through doing everything on offense, defense and special teams," Harris said.

Harris says having played the Patriots in the regular season will help in preparations the Broncos are undergoing this week, but only to a certain degree.

"We do have a little familiarity with the personnel we're going against, but Coach (Bill) Belichick is one of the best in the business at doing something different for a game. So we just have to execute our game plan, remember what it is we're doing on offense and really establish the run," Harris said.

"If we can get that run game going it really helps everything click on offense. It also gives our defense a break and keeps Tom Brady off the field."

Harris acknowledges that the Broncos have a tough task ahead of them.

"The Patriots are coming in playing very well," he said.