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01/25 17:24 CST Patriots punch ticket to 12th Super Bowl with gritty 10-7 win
over Broncos in snowy Denver
Patriots punch ticket to 12th Super Bowl with gritty 10-7 win over Broncos in
snowy Denver
By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Pro Football Writer
DENVER (AP) --- Drake Maye ran for 68 yards and threw for 86 in sloppy, snowy
conditions and scored New England's only touchdown on a 6-yard keeper,
propelling the Patriots to their 12th Super Bowl with a 10-7 win over the
Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Christian Gonzalez intercepted Jarrett Stidham, starting in place of an injured
Bo Nix, at New England's 36 with 2:11 remaining and the Patriots (17-3) iced
their first playoff win in Denver when Maye ran for 7 yards on third-and-5 from
his 41.
In Mike Vrabel's first season as coach, New England became the third team in
the Super Bowl era to win a conference championship with 10 points or less.
Buffalo beat Denver 10-7 in the 1991 AFC title game, and the Los Angeles beat
Tampa Bay 9-0 in the 1979 NFC championship game.
"I'm just proud of this team," Maye said. "Don't have many words. Just thankful
for this team. Love each and every one of them. It took everybody."
The Broncos (15-4) finished one step shy of fulfilling Sean Payton's preseason
prediction of a trip to Super Bowl 60.
Both kickers missed two field goals in the frigid conditions with Denver's Wil
Lutz and New England's Andy Borregales wide on long tries just before the snow
came in at halftime.
The Patriots fell behind 7-0, but had a key fourth-down stop near their own end
zone to spark the comeback. Their victory was their 40th in the playoffs,
breaking a tie with the San Francisco 49ers for the most in NFL history.
It was sunny at kickoff with a temperature of 26 degrees, but by halftime the
snowflakes began falling and grounds crews had to use snowblowers to mark the
hashmarks and yard lines by the fourth quarter, when it was 16 degrees.
"What an atmosphere out here," Maye said. "Battle of the elements. Love this
team. How about the defense? I love each and every one of them."
After gaining just 72 yards in the first half, the Patriots opened the second
half in swirling snow with a 16-play, 64-yard drive that ate up 9 1/2 minutes
and ended with a 23-yard field goal by Borregales that gave New England its
first lead at 10-7.
The Patriots managed just four first downs and 72 yards in the first half,
punting five times and missing a field goal. But they capitalized on a short
field when New England's defense set up Maye at the Denver 12 with a takeaway
and Maye took it in from 6 yards out to tie it at 7 at halftime.
Stepping in for the injured Nix (ankle surgery), Stidham's first completion
since the 2023 regular-season finale was a 52-yard dart to Marvin Mims Jr. to
the New England 7 that set up Courtland Sutton's 6-yard touchdown catch that
started the scoring.
The Broncos reached New England's 14 early in the second quarter, but Payton
decided to go for it --- and Stidham's throw to R.J. Harvey was incomplete on
fourth-and-1.
Instead of going up double digits, the Broncos were left clinging to a 7-0
lead, and Elijah Ponder recovered Stidham's backward pass at the Denver 12,
setting up the tying touchdown two plays later.
Stidham, who was drafted by the Patriots in 2019, made his first start since
the 2023 regular-season finale. The Broncos were the only team in the league
that didn't give their backup QB any snaps or handoffs the last two seasons.
Nix, who had 11 game-winning drives in his first two NFL seasons, got hurt on
Denver's final drive in overtime against Buffalo last week. But he didn't come
out of the game and the extent of his injury --- a broken right ankle ---
wasn't known until he went for X-rays after the 33-30 win.
Injuries Patriots: LB Robert Spillane went to the injury tent with an ankle injury with 3:14 left in the first quarter. Broncos: WR Pat Bryant, who left in the first quarter of the divisional round with a concussion, left in the first half Sunday with a pulled hamstring and didn't return. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL |
