Another statement defensive performance lifted the New England Patriots over the Denver Broncos, 10-7, in the AFC Championship Game. We’ll take a look at what went right for New England en route to a Super Bowl LX berth.
The 2025 New England Patriots are officially AFC Champions.
They captured the AFC title by outlasting the Denver Broncos, 10-7, in a weather-soaked defensive struggle to punch their ticket to Super Bowl LX.
It was New England’s first postseason win in Denver in franchise history, and like their previous battles, it was tightly contested from start to finish.
The Patriots added another identity-defining defensive performance to their playoff resume in the win, while the offense continued to show the resiliency needed to win in the game’s critical moments.
Let’s dive into some of the biggest factors that led to New England’s AFC title victory.
Road Warriors
Each game in New England’s three-win postseason run has showcased a clear and distinct identity that head coach Mike Vrabel has cultivated since arriving in Foxboro. They’ve played with violence, effort and finish through the whistle, and they’ve worked to maximize each player in their role.
In the regular season, that resulted in a Drake Maye-led offensive attack paired with an opportunistic defense that generated stops and turnovers in the game’s key moments.
In the postseason, that’s shifted into a ball-hawking defense that shuts down opponents while the offense methodically pokes and prods the NFL’s best defenses until it converts late to secure victory.
The Patriots’ AFC Championship Game win was another in that line, but it added a layer that had been missing from New England’s postseason success: winning on the road.
In the regular season, the Patriots became the 12th team to finish the year with an undefeated road record at 8-0. On Sunday, they became the first team in NFL history to go 9-0 on the road.
Their “road warriors” mentality was an essential component of the team’s turnaround during the regular season, and it’s representative of the chemistry that’s been built in the locker room. Unlike other teams, the Patriots relish the opportunity to band together on the road and enter a hostile environment to steal victory.
That element hadn’t defined their postseason run prior to the AFC Championship Game, and it revealed itself after Denver struck the first blow.
Jarrett Stidham and Marvin Mims connected on a 54 yard pass over the head of Christian Gonzalez in the first quarter, then went back to his side of the field on their ensuing touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead.
Akin to many of the Patriots’ early-season defensive performances, that was the Broncos’ most productive possession of the game — and the only one that produced points.
The Patriots answered with one of their own, turning over Stidham in the second quarter and setting up their offense inside the 10 yard line. Maye quickly converted off the turnover himself, as he ran in a six yard quarterback keeper to tie the game.
Then, a little bit of home arrived.
In the second half, the elements began to tilt the flow of the game. Snow was piling on the ground, and the wind blew sideways.
It was a fitting time for New England-esque winter weather to make an appearance as the Patriots looked to close the AFC title game strong on the road.
The Patriots’ offense took advantage in the third quarter, taking a 10-7 on a 16 play, 64 yard drive that ate up 9:31 of the quarter on the opening possession of the half. They look that lead with them into the fourth quarter while possessing the ball for over 13 minutes of game time in the period.
By the end of the game, New England possessed the ball for over 21-of-30 minutes in the second half.
Denver's offense had one last chance to answer, taking over with the ball and a short field late in the fourth quarter.
When New England needed one final stop on the Broncos’ last possession, it was Gonzalez who made the play; he secured his first interception of the season to seal an AFC title for the Patriots.
Gonzalez has been targeted eight times in the fourth quarter this postseason — he's allowed just two catches, 12 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and has allowed a passer rating of 0.0.
While young, this New England team has weathered momentum swings all season long. Their biggest wins this year have come away from Gillette Stadium (ie. at Buffalo, at Baltimore), and the AFC Championship Game became another notch in their belt this weekend.
Those road warriors earned the right to do it one more time this season in Super Bowl LX.
Continued Defensive Excellence
New England’s defensive identity had been evident through two postseason games.
In wins against the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans, they generated the highest pressure percentage in the NFL, racked up nine sacks, six turnovers, and scored as many touchdowns as they had allowed (one). Their opponents were 2-for-11 in the red zone, and only averaged 2.0 yards per carry.
Dominance — in a word.
And with Jarrett Stidham in at quarterback for the injured Bo Nix, that was set to continue in the AFC Championship Game.
To the surprise of many, Denver took an early first quarter lead when Stidham connected on the largest gain of the game for either team. He began the game completing 7-of-11 passes and looked to maintain more composure than either of the previous two quarterbacks that New England had faced in the playoffs.
Then, the Patriots began to settle into the game plan and found ways to rattle the inexperienced Stidham. New England spun the dial again, bringing pressure from several different positions.
The Patriots pressured Stidham on 10 passing attempts in the game — he finished 1-of-10 for just four passing yards, two turnovers, three sacks and a passer rating of 0.0 when under pressure.
Their creative defensive rush scheme was evident in the second quarter, and led to an unblocked Milton Williams getting home on Stidham on a failed 4th and 1 conversion attempt in the red zone which proved vital in the game’s outcome.
Later in the quarter, New England overloaded the right side of the offensive line, brining Christian Ellis and Jaylinn Hawkins on a six-man rush. Ellis forced a fumble on Stidham that was recovered by Elijah Ponder and led to the Patriots’ only touchdown of the game.
As the weather worsened around them, New England continued to flex its muscles on the defensive side of the ball.
In the second half, the Patriots shut the Broncos down entirely, allowing a total of 32 yards and holding Denver to 1-of-5 on third down.
Late in the fourth quarter, Denver took over possession at the New England 33 yard line with their best chance at tying the game after a very short punt by Bryce Baringer.
The Patriots’ defense held, and practice squad call-up Leonard Taylor III blocked the game-tying field goal attempt to keep the Patriots ahead on the scoreboard.
Gonzalez capped off the unit’s performance with the game-sealing interception, completing another identity-defining, chaos-proof win for New England’s defense.
And it’s been the story of the postseason. Even after an early scare, the Patriots continued to showcase why their defense has been the catalyst all January.
After his hot start, Stidham finished the game 17-of-31 with 133 yards passing, one touchdown, and one interception. R.J. Harvey was held to 13 carries for 37 yards (2.8 yards per carry) and only added 22 yards receiving. Courtland Sutton finished with 3 catches for 17 yards and the early touchdown.
As a team, the Broncos were held to just 181 total yards in the game, went 4-of-14 on third down and 0-1 on fourth down, averaged 3.1 yards per play, and turned the ball over twice.
It’s clear the Patriots’ defensive edge travels with the team, and it’ll need to do so one more time in Santa Clara.
Drop Dead Legs
The box score doesn’t look pretty for Maye and the New England offense at first glance.
Maye finished the game with season lows in completion percentage (47.6%) on 10-of-21 passing, passing yards with 86, and was sacked five times.
Denver’s highly-touted defense played at its best, generating consistent pressure on Maye and the Patriots’ passing game, while taking away any potential downfield opportunities with sticky coverage in the secondary.
As has been the case in each of New England's postseason matches, Denver's defense flipped tendencies to slow the processing of Maye. This week, a primarily man-to-man cover scheme ran over 70% of their defensive snaps in zone coverages (with Patrick Surtain man-to-man with the X receiver on the back-side).
New England’s offensive struggles were reminiscent of their 2016 AFC Championship Game loss in Denver. They were held to 6-of-18 on third down, averaged just 3.2 yards per play, and gained just 206 yards in the game.
But one x-factor that didn’t exist in 2016 helped lift the Patriots to victory in 2026: Drake Maye’s legs.
Maye scored New England’s only touchdown in the game on a second quarter quarterback draw from the six yard line — a concept the Patriots also had success on in Week 15 vs. Buffalo.
His mobility was a constant factor in the game. Maye converted six first downs on rushing attempts in the AFC Championship game, including several drive-extenders on third downs.
One scramble set the Patriots up for a long field goal at the end of the first half, when Maye ran for a first down on 3rd and 15 and slid down with one second remaining. Vrabel immediately called timeout, but the impressive awareness to get down and save the clock unfortunately didn’t lead to points as Andy Borregales missed a 63-yard attempt.
On New England’s game-deciding third quarter field goal drive, Maye converted a 3rd and 9 with a rush of 28 yards. That was the longest run for either team in the game, and it helped put the Patriots in scoring range en route to a massive 16 play, 64 yard drive that ate up 9:31 of the second half and gave New England their first lead of the game.
Rhamondre Stevenson also found a head of steam in the second half. While the efficiency wasn’t quite there in the box score — 25 carries for 71 yards (2.8 yards per carry) — he found enough space to keep the Patriots in more manageable down-and-distances for much of the second half when the weather began to take control of the game flow.
Helping that cause was another effective wrinkle from offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who used a "jumbo" personnel package (six offensive linemen) with additional offensive tackle Thayer Munford on 42.1% of offensive plays in the second half.
New England used the additional size on the field to grind the clock, and press their advantage.
When New England needed one first down to assume victory formation and kneel out a Conference Championship win, they once again turned to Maye. He booted out on a play action keeper to the left boundary and reached the line to gain, icing the victory for the Patriots in yet another clutch fourth quarter moment for the young quarterback this postseason.
Maye finished with 10 carries for 65 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, and his elusiveness was on display all game.
With pass rushers barreling down around him and receivers having difficulty separating in coverage, Maye made key plays with his legs that were the difference in the Patriots winning the game offensively.
While it may not have been the greatest passing performance of Maye’s career, he was still the deciding factor. The Patriots didn’t turn the ball over all game, and Maye negated several negative plays by escaping and creating additional yardage with his escapability.
Through three postseason games, the New England offense has yet to perform at its highest potential, but it continues to find different ways to grind out wins against the NFL’s top defensive units — back-to-back-to-back.
This time, it was Maye as a runner that allowed the Patriots to emerge victorious.
It wasn’t easy, but the Patriots once again found ways to overcome adversity and win in the playoffs.
Their resilience is reflective of a veteran group, while still having youth and inexperience at several key positions — and it continues to surprise and impress on a weekly basis.
Add the AFC Championship Game to New England’s expansive list of gritty road wins.
Wrapping Things Up
With the win, the 2025 Patriots became just the sixth team in NFL history to make the Super Bowl after winning five or fewer games in the season prior.
They're the first team in NFL history to make the Super Bowl with a head coach in their first year with the team and a starting quarterback in their first or second season.
New England advanced to their NFL record-extending 12th Super Bowl with the AFC title win; their 11th under owner Robert Kraft.
Mike Vrabel became the first person in NFL history to both start in a Conference Championship win as a player and win a Conference Championship game as a coach with the same team. With 17 wins this season, he also tied George Seifert (49ers, 1989) for the most wins by a head coach in their first year with a team in NFL history.
Drake Maye’s 17 wins this season are the most in NFL history by a player in their first or second season. His 3-0 playoff record also makes him just the fourth quarterback since 2000 to begin their postseason career with three consecutive wins, joining Tom Brady (10 consecutive wins), Joe Burrow (3), and Jake Delhomme (3).
By defeating the Broncos, Maye became the first quarterback in NFL history to defeat three of the NFL’s top-five ranked defenses en route to a Super Bowl berth.
To win Super Bowl LX, Maye will have to extend that mark to four — as he’s set to face another top-five defense in the Seattle Seahawks on February 8.
We’ll be diving deeper into the 2025 Patriots’ historic turnaround and previewing the Super Bowl LX showdown in the coming days.
Stay tuned for that and much more to come on Patriots Roundtable.
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