The AFC Championship Game turned into a snow globe for the final quarter, but the change in conditions wasn’t enough to shake the Patriots out of the lead.
A long Patriots drive to open the second half ended with a field goal that put them up 10-7 and the Broncos weren’t able to get any more points on the board the rest of the way. Their best chance came on a 46-yard field goal try in the fourth quarter, but Patriots defensive lineman Leonard Taylor deflected Wil Lutz’s kick and the Broncos remained behind.
They forced another New England punt and got the ball back with just over three minutes to play, but quarterback Jarrett Stidham was picked off by cornerback Christian Gonzalez. The Patriots faced a third-and-5 after the Broncos used their final timeout just after the two-minute warning and they turned to their MVP to pick up a first down that would allow them to run out the clock.
Quarterback Drake Maye kept the ball and ran around the left side of the line for a seven-yard run. The Patriots took a knee from there and they will move onto Levi’s Stadium for Super Bowl LX in two weeks.
Maye’s running was a huge factor throughout the game. He ran six yards for a touchdown after a Stidham fumble in the second quarter and had a 28-yard run to set up Andy Borregales’s field goal in the third quarter. Maye ran for 65 yards and Rhamondre Stevenson had 71 as the Patriots were content to grind things out once the snow and wind kicked up in the final stages.
Stidham finished 17-of-31 for 133 yards, a touchdown and an interception in his first start since the final week of the 2023 season. That was also the last time that he threw a pass and his lack of comfort showed on his fumble, which was a backward pass thrown after a long attempt to evade the New England pass rush. Broncos receivers also failed to hold onto a few catchable balls and head coach Sean Payton made a decision that’s sure to get plenty of coverage in the postgame analysis.
Facing a fourth-and-1 from the Patriots’ 14-yard line while up 7-0 in the second quarter, Payton passed on a field goal to go up two scores and Stidham threw an incompletion on a play that the Patriots blew up from the snap. It was easy to second guess the call at the time and became even easier as the weather became another factor working against the Broncos as the game went on.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel made a similar call in the third quarter and officials ruled that Maye was pushed across the line for a first down on a sneak. Replays were inconclusive, but the call on the field stood and the Broncos lost a timeout for their unsuccessful challenge. It was a worthwhile risk given the stakes — the Patriots scored the only points of the second half a few plays later — but the timeout would have come in handy down the stretch.
The Broncos will be left to wonder what might have been had things gone differently on those plays or if Bo Nix were healthy enough to play. The Patriots will be focused on what they need to do to win the seventh Super Bowl in franchise history.
The Patriots have their first lead of the AFC Championship Game.
Andy Borregales hit a 23-yard field goal to put the Patriots up 10-7 at the end of a long drive to open the third quarter. The Patriots held the ball for 9:31 before Borregales made his kick.
The field goal came a few plays after officials ruled that Patriots quarterback Drake Maye successfully sneaked for a yard on fourth-and-1 from the Denver 8-yard line. Broncos head coach Sean Payton challenged the spot and his argument appeared to have merit, but not the clear and obvious video evidence that his forward progress had been stopped short of the first down.
Maye had a clearer first down earlier in the drive when he scrambled for a 28-yard gain on a third down to move the Patriots into scoring range. Maye now has four carries for 51 yards, but wasn’t able to avoid a sack by Jonathon Cooper on the third down before the field goal.
The Broncos defense controlled the first 30 minutes of play against the Patriots, but the team doesn’t have a lead to show for it.
Denver took over near midfield after forcing the fifth Patriots punt of the first half with under a minute to play in the second quarter and picked up 17 yards on a pair of Jarrett Stidham passes to set up a 54-yard Wil Lutz field goal attempt. Lutz missed the kick wide to the right, however, and there was enough time left for the Patriots to position themselves for a 63-yard field goal attempt with one second left before halftime.
Andy Borregales’s kick didn’t come close and the score remains 7-7 at the break as a result.
New England punted on their first four possessions, but the fifth started on the Denver 12-yard line and the Patriots turned the short field into their only points of the game. Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham fumbled while trying to throw a ball away and Patriots quarterback Drake Maye ran for a six-yard score two plays later.
Stidham’s fumble came one possession after the Broncos faced a fourth-and-1 on the Patriots’ 14-yard line. Broncos head coach Sean Payton passed on the chance to go up two scores and Stidham was pressured into an incompletion that ended the drive without points of any kind.
The Patriots will get the ball to start the second half. After picking up 72 yards and four first downs in the first half, they’ll need to come up with a better plan of attack to take the lead on the road.
An officiating error gave the Broncos a temporary reprieve.
The situation, which was poorly explained by both the officials and the broadcast, unfolded when Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham, under heavy duress, threw a two-handed backward pass. The ball was recovered by the Patriots and returned by linebacker Elijah Ponder for a 12-yard touchdown.
The ruling on the field was that Stidham had thrown a forward pass, and that he had committed intentional grounding. Then, referee Alex Kemp said that, “after discussion,” it had been determined to be a backward pass, recovered by the Patriots.
It wasn’t a touchdown because the whistle had blown. The whistle had blown because the officials had gotten it wrong in real time, by misjudging the play as a forward pass.
The far better move in that situation would have been to let the play continue, with replay review available to turn the ruling of a backward pass into a forward pass.
It ultimately didn’t matter, because the Patriots scored on the ensuing short drive. But it was a mistake, one that wasn’t addressed nearly as clearly as it should have been — especially since today’s audience includes plenty of people who don’t follow the sport closely enough to understand what happened without a full and complete explanation.
Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham’s first big mistake of Sunday’s game led to the first points for the Patriots.
Stidham tried to throw the ball away while under heavy pressure from Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss, but wound up throwing the ball backward and Patriots linebacker Elijah Ponder recovered the ball. Ponder ran for a touchdown, but a whistle blew the play dead before he scored.
Officials initially ruled that Stidham was guilty of intentional grounding, but replays showed that the ball was not a forward pass and officials changed the call after a conference.
The Patriots took over on the Broncos’ 12-yard line and quarterback Drake Maye ran for a six-yard touchdown after a short completion to wide receiver Kayshon Boutte. The score is now 7-7 with 2:10 to play in the first half.
The Broncos passed on a chance to kick a short field goal on their previous drive, but Stidham threw an incomplete pass on fourth down. They were able to force a quick Patriots punt, but their lead is gone.
Broncos wide receiver Pat Bryant and Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane are both questionable to return. Bryant hurt his hamstring and Spillane hurt his ankle.
