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.
