The New England Patriots booked their spot at Super Bowl LX when they edged the Denver Broncos 10-7 in a near-blizzard in the AFC Championship game.
The Patriots totaled just 72 yards of offense and three first downs in the first half, but managed to go into halftime tied 7-7 after a costly Jarrett Stidham fumble for Denver.
The Broncos’ backup quarterback, making his first NFL start in two years because of Bo Nix’s season-ending injury in the divisional round, started the game well, giving Denver a 7-0 lead after following up a 52-yard strike to Marvin Mims with a touchdown toss to Courtland Sutton in the first quarter.
But with the Broncos’ defense completely shutting down New England’s offense, Denver was left to rue a Stidham fumble from their own 33-yard line that gave the Patriots their game-tying score.
Elijah Ponder apparently returned the fumble for a touchdown, only for the refs to call the play dead prematurely. The mistake proved not to be too costly, however, as Patriots QB Drake Maye ran in a six-yard TD off the turnover two plays later.
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Jarrett Stidham follows up a great deep ball to Marvin Mims with a 6-yard touchdown toss to Courtland Sutton for the Denver Broncos
Denver could, and perhaps should, still have had a lead at the half, but their decision to go for it on fourth-and-one from New England’s 14-yard line earlier in the second quarter — instead of kicking a field goal — was a mistake as the Patriots’ defense held and forced a turnover on downs.
Both teams missed field goal attempts shortly before halftime, Will Lutz missing from 54 yards for the Broncos before Andy Borregales missed an even more opportunistic effort for the Pats from 63 yards as time expired.
Drake Maye celebrates after the New England Patriots reach Super Bowl LX with a victory over the Denver Broncos
Heads of State:
Patriots
- Passed: Drake Maye, 10/21, 86 yards
- Urgent: Rhamondre Stevenson, 25 carries, 71 yards
- Recipient: Mack Hollins, 2 catches, 51 yards
Broncos
- Passed: Jarrett Stidham, 17/31, 133 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (& 1 fumble)
- Urgent: RJ Harvey, 13 carries, 37 yards
- Recipient: Marvin Mims Jr, 4 catches, 62 yards
During the interval, conditions quickly deteriorated in Denver as high winds and heavy snow rolled in to make scoring even more difficult in the second half, but the Patriots came away decisively with the opening three points.
New England nearly eclipsed their first-half total yardage on their opening possession after halftime, driving 64 yards to set up a 23-yard field goal — shortly after Maye converted a key fourth-and-one when the Pats opted to go for it.
That proved to be the difference, with New England’s defense completely shutting down Denver’s offense in the second half, limiting them to just one first down and 32 yards as they book their spot at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara in two weeks.
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Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye react after winning the AFC Championship for the New England Patriots against the Denver Broncos.
Both teams had additional field-goal attempts that were missed, Denver’s 46-yarder with four minutes and 46 seconds left in the game was blocked, while Stidham threw an interception to end the game with just over two minutes left.
The win extends New England’s record number of Super Bowl appearances to 12 as they look to clinch a seventh and first without legendary quarterback and coach combo Tom Brady and Bill Belichick at the helm.
Watch every minute of the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium live on Sky Sports NFL.