The New England Patriots’ storybook season rolls on to Super Bowl LX after surviving in a snow-filled battle against the Denver Broncos, 10-7, to win the AFC Championship Game.
The New England Patriots have officially advanced to Super Bowl LX.
Yes, you read that right. No, this isn’t a dream.
One calendar year removed from consecutive 4-13 seasons, the New England Patriots are 17-3 and Super Bowl-bound.
Their suffocating defense was the star again, leading a 10-7 victory over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game and the right to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LX.
How it Went
Heading into Sunday’s AFC Championship Game in Denver, two major headlines circled through the media: the absence of Bo Nix and the subsequent roll-out of backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, and the highly-ranked Broncos defense looking to contain a sputtering Patriots offensive attack.
The Broncos entered the field of play offensively with Stidham, whose 749 days without playing far surpassed the NFL record for consecutive days between a pass attempt prior to starting a playoff game (370 days, Joe Webb and the Minnesota Vikings in 2012). Denver was the only team in the league whose backup did not attempt a pass over the last two seasons.
Against a New England defense that had been playing their best brand of football through two postseason affairs (45% blitz rate, 72 pressures, 9 sacks, six turnovers, 2.0 yards per carry, one touchdown scored and one touchdown allowed), Denver was set to face an uphill battle all afternoon.
Over the last two weeks, the Patriots had made a habit of harassing quarterbacks of much more renown than Stidham. Rather than looking dazed and confused early, Stidham showed composure to lead the Broncos offense to an early advantage — but 60 minutes is a long time to last against this defense.
As for New England’s offense, the highly-touted Broncos defense was the third in a consecutive streak of top-five defenses they faced off with in the postseason.
Akin to their previous two encounters, the Patriots slowly and methodically looked for cracks in the opposition before delivering the fatal blow in the second half.
The NFL’s best pass rush (ranked first in sacks and second in pressure rate) was positioned to give headaches to a Patriots offensive line that ranked bottom-five in sacks and pressure rate.
Denver was set to have the edge with their front seven. They did — but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Patriots.
With questions about ball security and pass protection circling around the offense entering play again on Sunday, Maye and New England continued to show the resiliency and poise needed to win in the postseason, converting in critical situations to exit Mile High victorious.
First Half
This game shaped up to be a battle between two elite defensive units. Early on, Denver looked the part, but the Patriots would reclaim their edge late.
In a low-scoring first half, it was Denver that struck first on their second drive, as Stidham hit Marvin Mims on a 54-yard strike over Christian Gonzalez on a 3rd-and-10 conversion that set the Broncos up inside the New England 7-yard line.
Through the last four games, New England had allowed just two touchdowns on 18 opponent trips to the red zone, but Stidham converted on his first visit — he hit Courtland Sutton on a play action rollout to the back right corner of the end zone that gave Denver an early 7-0 lead.
New England remained scoreless, and surrendered the ball back to Denver each time they possessed the ball. The Patriots were held to 12 total yards on 12 plays in the first quarter.
As was the profile for Patriots’ wins through two playoff games, their best offense would come in the second half as they worked to solve the enigma of Denver’s defense; while their defense breathed life into the team with an early spark.
Denver reached the New England 20 yard line early in the second quarter before Marcus Jones made a great recovery on a 3rd and 6 nickel blitz — rallying and chasing down a scrambling Stidham before he reached the line to gain. The Broncos went for the conversion on 4th and 1, but pressure by Milton Williams forced Stidham’s passing attempt offline and nearly intercepted by Craig Woodson.
The stop kept New England in a one possession game, and following another short offensive drive, it was the defense that yet again created a pivotal turning point in the game.
Turning Point
A third down blitz for the Patriots with three minutes remaining became the highlight of the first half for the Patriots, as Christian Ellis forced Stidham to retreat and fling a backward pass out into open space. The play was initially ruled intentional grounding, but was overturned to a fumble that Elijah Ponder recovered inside the Denver 10 yard line.
The Patriots red zone offense went to work, and quickly tied the game on a Maye quarterback draw that saw him waltz into the end zone untouched to knot things up before the two-minute warning.
Each defense traded stops before the halftime break, and a quick three-and-out by New England combined with a short punt by Bryce Baringer set the Broncos up on the edge of field goal range with one minute remaining in the half.
New England caught a break when Will Lutz’s 54-yard attempt went offline with 20 seconds remaining.
That set the Patriots up at the 45 yard line with one timeout, and Maye showed great awareness to slide down in bounds with one second remaining on a 16 yard scramble on 3rd and 15 that set Andy Borregales up for a chance to take the lead going into the locker room.
Like Lutz, Borregales wasn’t able to convert on a 63-yard attempt, and the first half ended in a 7-7 tie.
The Patriots turned up the heat in the second quarter to break even on the scoreboard, but in large part, the first half left more to be desired.
Offensively, New England only managed to gain 72 yards on 28 plays, and Maye was held in check. He was sacked three times, and finished the first half 7-of-14 with 41 yards passing, 22 yards rushing, and a rushing touchdown. The Patriots were just 3-of-8 on third down in the first half.
Stidham began the game completing seven of his first 11 attempts including the early touchdown, but began to unravel as the game settled in. He finished 5-of-10 in the remainder of the first half, and was 1-of-8 with three sacks and a fumble when pressured by the New England defensive front.
The second half would bring a change of fortune for New England, as they continued to face and overcome adversity.
Second Half
The Patriots opened the second half with possession of the football, and as they took the field, snow began to fall in Denver — a welcome sight for New England.
They moved the ball past midfield with a heavy dose of Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson before getting pinned back into a 3rd and 9, where Maye once again made an impact with his legs. The elusive quarterback stepped up in the pocket and scrambled for 28 yards as the Patriots began to sustain a drive for the first time in the game.
Down inside the 10 yard line, New England faced a 4th and 1 after Hunter Henry was stopped just short of the first down marker on a 3rd and 10 screen to the perimeter. The Patriots walked out Tonga and Milton Williams on the attempt to push Maye forward on a quarterback sneak and converted to keep the drive alive.
The Broncos defense held in a goal-to-go situation, sacking Maye to force a short Borregales field goal. The Patriots’ first extended scoring drive of the game spanned 16 plays, 64 yards, and took 9:31 off of the clock to begin the third quarter, but only resulted in a narrow 10-7 lead.
New England’s defense answered the bell to begin the second half in response, forcing a quick three-and-out and handing the football back to a Patriots offense that was starting to find a rhythm.
Maye’s legs continued to be a factor, as he stepped up and scrambled for his fifth rushing first down conversion of the game to jumpstart the New England offense again. McDaniels followed that rush up with a wrinkle, as Maye connected with Mack Hollins on a 31 yard flea flicker to flip field position.
The trick play set the Patriots up on the edge of field goal range, but with swirling winds and deteriorating field conditions, New England was unable to muster any more momentum on the drive. Borregales missed a difficult 47-yard attempt in the weather, and the game remained 10-7 as action moved into the fourth quarter.
The Patriots showed more promise to begin the second half — retaining possession for 13:10 of game time in the third quarter on their two best offensive possessions through that point of the game.
Moving against the wind and snow in the final quarter, the Patriots offense was once again battling uphill, but their defense continued to hold firm against Stidham and the Denver offense.
The teams continued to trade stops before another short punt by Baringer from his own end zone set the Broncos up at the New England 33-yard line with just under seven minutes remaining in the game.
Stidham and the Denver offense weren’t able to take advantage of their excellent starting field position, as the Patriots continued their defensive dominance through the second half.
Play of the Game
Lutz was brought on for a 46 yard field goal attempt to tie the game, and his kick was blocked by Leonard Taylor to retain the lead for the Patriots with just under seven minutes remaining. Taylor was called up to the active roster from the practice squad prior to the game, and ended up making a game-clinching stop.
New England was content to win this one on defense, and played conservatively on offense with extremely poor starting field position and inclement weather conditions for the vast majority of the second half.
Vrabel bet on his defense to continue holding Stidham and the Denver offense off of the scoreboard, and that gamble paid off.
With just over two minutes remaining, Stidham floated a pass deep that was intercepted by Gonzalez — his first of the season — and all but sealed the victory for the Patriots.
Maye took the field and put the game away for the Patriots with another third down conversion on the ground, booting to his left and rushing for a first down that allowed New England to kneel down and finalize the win.
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The Patriots’ defense proved dominant once again after an early touchdown allowed, holding the Broncos to 32 total yards in the second half, blocking a field goal and intercepting Stidham on Denver’s final possession.
Maye was the difference for New England offensively in the win, but did most of his damage with his ability to extend plays with his legs. He finished 10-of-21 with 86 passing yards, 65 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
New England’s road-dog mentality shined through once again, as they extended their undefeated record away from Gillette Stadium to 9-0 on the season — becoming the first team in NFL history to hit that mark.
It’s the Patriots’ first postseason victory at Denver in the franchise’s history. New England was previously 0-4, with two losses in AFC Championship Games at Mile High.
With the win, the 2025 Patriots became just the sixth team in NFL history and the first team since the 2001 Patriots to make the Super Bowl after winning five or fewer games in the season prior.
By advancing to the Super Bowl, 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.
This is his first trip to the Super Bowl as a head coach; he won three with New England as a player in 2001, 2003, and 2004. He previously reached the AFC Championship Game as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans.
Maye’s 17 wins this season are the most in NFL history by a player in their first or second season. In the win, he 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.
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).
The Patriots are still dancing, and now look ahead to Super Bowl LX. They’ll face the winner of tonight’s NFC Championship Game between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams.
New England’s Super Bowl LX appearance may be the most surprising in the franchise’s NFL record-extending 12th trip, as their Cinderella story of a year continues to the season’s finale.
We’ll be taking a closer look at how New England captured the AFC title in Denver, reminiscing on how we got to this point with the 2025 Patriots, and previewing a Super Bowl LX showdown in the coming days.
Stay tuned for that and much more to come on Patriots Roundtable.
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