Patriots punch Super Bowl LX ticket by beating Broncos in blizzard

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Patriots punch Super Bowl LX ticket by beating Broncos in blizzard

Chris Mason · MassLive

Sun, Jan 25, 2026 ·

2 min read

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The Patriots punched their ticket to Super Bowl LX by outlasting the Broncos in a Denver blizzard, 10-7.

Heavy snow began to fall at Empower Field at Mile High at halftime and it became a field-position battle. As the Broncos tried to kick a game-tying 45-yard field goal in driving snow with 4:46 remaining, practice squad call up Leonard Taylor got a hand on Will Lutz ’s kick to block it.

The two teams combined to punt 14 times and miss four field goals, but ultimately, the Patriots did enough to beat a Broncos team led by Jarrett Stidham . Despite the conditions, Mike Vrabel’s team did not turn the ball over once.

After trading punts to open the game, Denver began the scoring late in the first quarter. Marvin Mims ran past Christian Gonzalez to haul in a 52-yard reception, and then Stidham hit Cortland Sutton for a six-yard touchdown to go up 7-0 with 4:41 remaining in the opening quarter. Gonzalez got the last laugh, however, as he intercepted Stidham on Denver’s final drive.

Faced with a fourth-and-1 early in the second quarter, Sean Payton passed up a 31-yard field goal and opted to go for it. The decision was regrettable for Denver, as Stidham threw an incomplete pass under pressure from Milton Williams and never scored again.

With the Patriots offense sputtering throughout the first half, New England got the turnover they desperately needed late in the second quarter. With a terrific pass rush from Christian Elliss , Stidham tried to flip a ball away but Elliss hit his hand and the ball travelled backwards. Elijah Ponder scooped the ball up and ran it into the end zone, but the play was blown dead.

The Patriots took over at the Denver 12-yard line, and two snaps later, Drake Maye got New England on the board with a beautifully-blocked six-yard quarterback keeper. Maye finished 10-of-21 for 86 yards, but picked up 65 yards with his legs, too.

New England finally got some offensive traction after halftime, bleeding 9:31 off the clock on a 16-play, 64-yard drive, but stalled in the red zone and settled for a 23-yard Andy Borregales chip shot to take a 10-7 lead.

It proved to be the game-winner.

At Super Bowl LX on February 8, New England will now face the winner of Sunday’s NFC Championship between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks .

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