Patriots rookie Will Campbell knows a huge test awaits in Denver: ‘They’ve created a lot of chaos’

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Patriots rookie Will Campbell knows a huge test awaits in Denver: ‘They’ve created a lot of chaos’

Chris Mason · MassLive

Wed, Jan 21, 2026 ·

2 min read

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FOXBOROUGH — Life isn’t going to get much easier for Patriots left tackle Will Campbell in the AFC Championship Game.

After drawing Khalil Mack and Odafe Oweh in the Wild Card round and seeing Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter last weekend, the rookie left tackle will be faced with Nik Bonitto and a Denver front that led the NFL with 68 sacks this season.

Fourteen of those sacks belonged to Bonitto, and the veteran edge rusher registered 80 pressures on opposing quarterbacks, fourth most in the entire league.

“He’s a good player,” Campbell said. “They’ve got a bunch of good players across the front, on the back end, linebackers. It’s a good defense... Bonitto is a talented player. They’ve got talented players up front. They’ve created a lot of chaos for teams this season.”

It’s been a challenging start to the postseason for Campbell. According to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, the rookie has surrendered 10 pressures and four sacks in his first two games. Campbell knows going into a raucous Denver crowd will add some more difficulty, too.

“This will be the biggest challenge yet,” Campbell said. “Go in there, playoff atmosphere, No. 1 seed. They’re a talented team, so we’ve gotta be on it this week.”

Though he just turned 22 years old, with a chance to punch a Super Bowl ticket this weekend, Campbell said he knew what was at stake in the AFC Championship Game.

“You understand what’s in front of you,” Campbell said. “You don’t take an opportunity like this for granted. There are guys in this locker room that have played in this league for 10, 11 years and this is their first time going to it. So you understand that this is not the norm. So you definitely don’t take it for granted.”

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