The New England Patriots defeated the Denver Broncos 10-7 in a snow-filled game in the AFC Championship to advance to the Super Bowl. It felt like neither team could score in the second half of the game, especially when the snow started piling up, and the defenses were also stout.
This is the second straight snow game for New England, as they also dealt with it last Sunday in a win over the Houston Texans, but this was like no other. It was so bad at one point that both Rhamondre Stevenson and Drake Maye slipped on a single play. There were also four missed field goals in the game, including two at the end of the 1st half by both teams. Patriots kicker, Andy Borregales, also badly missed a 46-yard field goal in the second half in the windy snow. Then, Broncos kicker Will Lutz missed a 46-yard field goal in the snowy conditions, but this time it was blocked by Leonard Taylor III, the practice squad standout.
Both teams had to essentially play “smash mouth football” by running the ball, since the passing game was basically a complete zero. The fourth quarter was even tougher on both offenses, as it got incredibly slippery.
Opposite Maye was backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who replaced Bo Nix, who was unfortunately out for the season after a broken ankle suffered in a divisional win against the Buffalo Bills. Stidham started hot, throwing a strike to Marvin Mims Jr. on the run over Christian Gonzalez, and then connecting with Courtland Sutton on an opening drive touchdown.
Both quarterbacks struggled mightily today; some can be given grace to because of the snow piling on in the second half, but there’s next to no excuse for the first half, in my opinion.
The game flipped once the Patriots got a 4th down stop on the Broncos when they were down 7-0, an aggressive play call with a backup quarterback, which is now even more controversial from Sean Payton.
Christian Gonzalez got roasted on the opening drive by Mims Jr, then gave up a touchdown to Courtland Sutton.
Thankfully for him, he made the biggest play of his life by intercepting Stidham at the tail end of the fourth quarter. This is what I like to call the Quinyon Mitchell special, as he got beat on the opening drive, locked in, and finished with two interceptions against the San Francisco 49ers. Even the best get beaten; how you shake back when that happens separates you from the others. Gonzalez also added a sack on Stidham for good measure.
Christian Barmore also had a phenomenal game, especially his sack on All-Pro first team recipient Quinn Meinerz. Barmore and Milton Williams remain as one of the most underrated defensive duos in the league as they constantly wreak havoc against the opposition.
Christian Elliss had a couple of nice plays, including a sack, forced fumble, and four tackles. The forced fumble on Stidham was massive, as the Patriots needed a big-time play, and it gift-wrapped their offense an end-zone opportunity. Elijah Ponder recovered the fumble after beating 1st team All-Pro tackle Garrett Boles, and New England received the ball after the referees deliberated on the call.
K’Lavon Chaisson added two quarterback hits with this five tackles, Marcus Jones had a great pass deflection, and Williams had two quarterback hits as well.
The run defense was stout again. It’s incredibly scary the level they can get to when fully healthy with Williams, Khyiris Tonga, and Robert Spillane out there. Spillane, unfortunately, left the game early with an ankle injury and didn’t return. Broncos running back RJ Harvey had 13 carries for 37 rushing yards, equating to 3.3 yards per carry. Overall, Denver ran 24 times for 79 yards, coming out at 3.3 YPC.
The pressure on Stidham took a step up in the second half of the game, and there was no chance either team would score a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Brenden Schooler also made some big-time plays on special teams, including a play where he made an immediate tackle, and they needed his constant energy.
Maye struggled mightily, especially in the second half, with some uncharacteristic throws, even against the elite Broncos defense, especially when targeting Kayshon Boutte. There was a play in particular where Maye threw a bad ball at the end of the first half to Boutte, then overthrew him in the second half of the game.
The snow also led to an ultra-conservative game plan from Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels, who simply didn’t want to put the ball in harm’s way.
Luckily for Maye, he had the same sealing seven-yard rush on 3rd and 6 to advance the Patriots to the Super Bowl. The crazy part about this play is that it wasn’t by design, and not even his offensive line knew it was coming, pure madness. Maye also ran in for a game-tying six-yard touchdown at the end of the first half after his defense gave him a very favorable field position.
There were a couple of awful sacks that Maye took, but at least he didn’t fumble or turn the ball over overall. 86 passing yards is not going to cut it. The running plays were massive, but still, this isn’t a winning recipe. It was also pretty brutal at one point, how bad Will Campbell was playing at left tackle, Nik Bonitto forced Maye to get rid of the ball quicker than he anticipated. Campbell at least convincingly won a rep against Bonitto; he was also called for a false start later in the game. Morgan Moses also surprisingly got beaten a couple of times at right tackle, once by Jonathon Cooper, who sacked Maye.
A problem with Maye is that he never gives up on a play, which at times can hurt him as he doesn’t get rid of the ball. This leads to sacks and taking unnecessary hits, instead of just simply living to fight another day, and throwing the ball away.
The Patriots are back in the Super Bowl for the first time since 2019. It’s been a long seven years. Justice is finally served, they’re back to being one of the most hated teams in the world, and all is good again.
From 4-13 last season to 17-3 currently and being one win away from winning the Super Bowl, take a bow, Mike Vrabel. Major shoutout to General Manager Eliot Wolf as well. It felt like he hit on virtually every single free agent and draft pick during the offseason. Guys like Williams, Chaisson, Tonga, re-signing Elliss and Jaylinn Hawkins, drafting Craig Woodson, I could go on all day about this great turnaround. You can’t forget Campbell and Jared Wilson, even with their ups and downs, or TreVeyon Henderson, and Kyle Williams. Major hits on players like undrafted free agent Ponder, drafting Borregales, the sneaky signing of Garrett Bradbury, and late season acquisition of Taylor III.
The defense deserved to win that game, forcing two massive turnovers and getting countless stops. Maye and the running game have to be better at the end of the day, and it’s not going to get any easier against the Seattle Seahawks. New England’s defensive gauntlet continues on February 8th as they’ll play against four top ten defenses in the Los Angeles Chargers, Texans, Broncos, and now the Seahawks.
Nothing but respect for Denver and their fans as well. You can tell that they’ve been there before, and they have a great ball club. Elite defense and offensive line, this is nowhere near the end for them.
On the other hand, this is the Patriots’ first playoff win in Mile High Stadium, which is incredibly tough with that fan base and elevation. New England now has to prepare to face an elite Seattle team coached by Mike Macdonald in two weeks in Santa Clara, California, with a ring and legacies on the line. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Kenneth Walker III, Sam Darnold, and some really good tight ends are on the other side of this thing with a ferocious defense.
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