FOXBOROUGH, Mass. >> Patriots coach Bill Belichick says Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker deliberately tried to “take out” cornerback Aqib Talib when they collided in the AFC championship game.

Talib hurt his knee on the play early in the second quarter and missed the rest of the game. Denver beat New England 26-16 on Sunday to advance to the Super Bowl.

Belichick calls the play one of the worst he’s seen and says Welker made no attempt to get open.

On the play, Peyton Manning’s pass to Demaryius Thomas fell incomplete.

Welker spent the previous six years with the Patriots before signing with the Broncos before the season. He says he was trying to get Talib to go behind him as the two headed for each other across the middle.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org