The Denver Broncos’ season came to a brutal conclusion today in the AFC Championship game, as the Broncos lost 10-7 to the New England Patriots in a memorable weather game where snowy, windy conditions became king in the second half.
The Broncos came out surprisingly strong in this one, with backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham throwing a 52-yard strike to receiver Marvin Mims Jr. on Denver’s second series. A six-yard touchdown pass to possession receiver Courtland Sutton followed, and the raucous Mile High crowd began thinking upset with the Broncos up 7-0.
Initially, their optimism was justified. Denver’s defense dominated the Patriots offense, giving up just 12 yards and one first down in the entire first quarter.
But the Broncos likely lost this game in the second quarter due to some bad plays and questionable coaching decisions. The coaching decision was about not taking points after a subsequent drive in what was then a windy weather game, as the Broncos gave up the ball on downs at the New England 14 yard-line after driving the ball 43 yards.
The bad play came from Stidham, who botched an ill-advised throwaway deep in his own territory, and the backward pass that followed became a fumble that New England recovered on the Denver 12-yard line. Pats quarterback Drake Maye ran it in for the touchdown two plays later from 6 yards out, and just like that the game was tied at 7-7.
A pair of missed field goals followed near the end of the half, the first from Denver kicker Wil Lutz and the second from his New England counterpart Andy Borregales, with both kicks hindered by the deteriorating conditions.
The second half was a completely different game played in a swirling wind and a driving snow storm that made the conditions close to unplayable. But it was Drake Maye who won the game with his legs, with a formidable assist from the New England defense.
A 28-yard run from Maye keyed the Patriots’ 6-play, 64-yard drive that led to a 23-yard Borregales field goal to make it 10-7, and that was all the scoring it took for New England to outlast Denver. The rest of the game was an ugly field-position battle that featured plenty of offensive futility by both teams.
The Broncos were unable to take advantage of having the wind at their backs in the fourth quarter, with Lutz getting a 45-yard field goal tipped, then yanked wide left by the wind with just under five minutes remaining. Stidham threw a bad interception late in the fourth on Denver’s final chance to score, after which the Patriots ran out the clock.
The stats for this one ended up being as ghastly as the conditions. Maye finished with just 86 yards passing while going 10-for-21 as he was sacked five times by the Denver defenses, but his rushing line of 10 carries for 65 yards and the Patriots’ lone touchdown was the key stat in this game.
Stidham ended up with a mediocre stat line, going 17-for-31 for 133 yard with a TD pass and an interception. It’s difficult to blame him for his unsightly performance given the elements, but the simple fact is that Maye was able to make plays with his legs, while the Broncos couldn’t run the ball and had no counter for that with quarterback Bo Nix out after breaking his ankle against the Buffalo Bills in the division round.
This will go down as a “what might have been” season for the Broncos, as they far exceeded the basic expectations of the fan base to win a playoff game. They came within inches of going to the Super Bowl with their backup quarterback at the helm, but overall New England simply played a better game.
The Patriots, meanwhile, will move on to the Super Bowl, where they’ll face the winner of the NFC Championship game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks. The contest will be held in Santa Clara, where the conditions will thankfully be far better for sure.