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.
Last year, Donald Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl. He won’t be doing it again this year.
Trump told the New York Post that he’ll skip the game to be played in Santa Clara in two weeks.
“It’s just too far away,” Trump said. “I would. I’ve [gotten] great hands [at] the Super Bowl. They like me. I would go if, you know, it was a little bit shorter.”
One thing he won’t miss is the musical acts. Beyond Bad Bunny, the headliner at halftime, the NFL recently added Oakland natives Green Day to perform at the game’s “opening ceremony.”
“I’m anti-them,” Trump said. “I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.”
The feelings, in all fairness, between Trump and the musical acts are mutual.
The first five offensive snaps of the game for the Broncos were unimpressive, but No. 6 made up for it.
Quarterback Jarrett Stidham launched a ball downfield for wide receiver Marvin Mims and Mims reeled it in for a 52-yard gain. Stidham hit wide receiver Courtland Sutton two plays later for a six-yard touchdown and an early lead over the Patriots.
The extra point made it 7-0 with 10:19 off the clock.
The Broncos picked up one yard while going three-and-out to open the game and Stidham threw incompletions on the first two plays of the second drive. The Patriots weren’t any better as they punted after three plays, but we’ll find out if the second try works as well as it did for the home team.
The Broncos and Patriots have released their inactive lists for Sunday afternoon’s AFC Championship Game.
Wide receiver Troy Franklin is on Denver’s list. Franklin, who was listed as questionable with a hamstring injury, had 65 catches for 709 yards and six touchdowns in the regular season.
Center Alex Forsyth (ankle) is also out after being listed as questionable. Forsyth started the last three games for the Broncos, but they activated Luke Wattenberg from injured reserve this week.
Safety JL Skinner, linebacker Karene Reid, wide receiver Michael Bandy, defensive lineman Jordan Jackson, and defensive end Sai’vion Jones are also inactive for Denver.
Patriots linebacker Marte Mapu is active after being listed as questionable with a hip injury. Edge rusher Harold Landry was ruled out on Friday and is inactive along with cornerback Kobee Minor, tackle Marcus Bryant, guard Caedan Wallace, tight end C.J. Dippre, wide receiver Efton Chism, and quarterback Tommy DeVito.
The Bills are casting a wide net when it comes to searching for their next head coach. But not wide enough to encompass the man who won six Super Bowls with a division rival.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Bills are not interested in Bill Belichick.
At one level, it’s surprising. If the Bills are going to interview someone like Philip Rivers for the job, why not kick the tires on the Tar Heels head coach? At a not-much-deeper level, Belichick has morphed from GOAT in a good way to goat in the usual sense.
He’s currently regarded as radioactive by most NFL teams looking for coaches. And he has only himself to blame, thanks to the bizarre distractions he created in North Carolina over the past year and his open hostility toward his long-time employer in New England. Any NFL owner who would be inclined to hire Belichick would have to assume that, eventually, some of that same venom will be directed to his next former team.
Before it even gets to that, the current employees of the football operation would have to worry about Belichick showing up and taking over, firing long-time employees and bringing in his own people (like Lombo). That’s what apparently derailed Belichick’s candidacy with the Falcons in 2024, after he was fired by the Patriots.
And so here we are. Three full hiring cycles. One interview for Bill Belichick. And no indication that he’ll ever have another chance to chase Don Shula — or to fend off Andy Reid — on the all-time wins list.
