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11 takeaways as Patriots beat Broncos, book trip to Super Bowl LX
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- 11 takeaways as Patriots beat Broncos, book trip to Super Bowl LX
DENVER – The Patriots entered Mile High Stadium as the favorites in Sunday’s AFC Championship game.
With the Denver Broncos without starter Bo Nix , Mike Vrabel’s team entered this matchup confident. However, this stadium has been anything but easy for the Patriots in the postseason.
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The franchise entered this season having never won a playoff game in Denver. The Patriots were 0-3 with Tom Brady in this stadium in the postseason. They lost once before that in 1987.
Sunday was a chance for Drake Maye to exorcise the Denver demons in a place that saw past Patriots teams lose two conference championships and two divisional matchups. With an extremely loud crowd and high altitude, Mile High Stadium has been a house of horrors for many, including the greatest quarterback in NFL history.
Under Vrabel and Maye, however, the Patriots have embarked on a new chapter in Patriots history. It’s one that brings this franchise back to the Super Bowl.
The Patriots beat the Broncos, 10-7, in Sunday’s conference title game, securing a place in Super Bowl LX against the winner of the NFC Championship between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams .
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In his first year as coach in New England , Vrabel has brought the Patriots back to the promised land.
Here’s how it happened:
Broncos strike first
The Patriots’ defense looked dominant to start, but it was the Broncos who struck first, taking a 7-0 lead.
Denver went three-and-out in their first series. Running back RJ Harvey was tackled for 1 yard and then dropped for no gain on the first two snaps of the game. On third-and-9, Elijah Ponder hit Stidham to force an incomplete pass.
That wasn’t the case in the second drive.
On third-and-10, Stidham hit Marvin Mims Jr. for a 52-yard gain to set up a first-and-goal from the 7-yard line. Mims got by Christian Gonzalez on the throw. Two plays later, Stidham hit Courtland Sutton for a 6-yard touchdown at 10:19 of the first quarter.
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Patriots’ offense starts slow
Much like the Broncos, the Patriots’ offense also went three-and-out to start this game. Unlike the Broncos, the Patriots didn’t get it together.
The offense gained 12 yards on 12 plays in the first quarter.
In their first series, Rhamondre Stevenson ran for 6 yards on his first two carries to set up third-and-4. Maye was nearly intercepted on his third-down attempt, but safety Talanoa Hufanga couldn’t hold onto the ball.
Following the Broncos’ touchdown, the crowd was very loud, and the Patriots didn’t do much to quiet them down.
The Patriots’ second drive also ended in a punt. The offense picked up one first down but gained 1 yard in three plays before punter Bryce Baringer came back out on the field. The Patriots’ third drive resulted in another three-and-out when Maye was sacked by Que Robinson for a loss of 9 yards on second down.
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According to ESPN, this was the first time this season that the Patriots punted three straight times to start a game.
Defense comes up with big stop
In the second quarter, the Patriots lost linebacker Robert Spillane , who departed due to an ankle injury. Without their leading tackle, the defense was struggling against Stidham and the Broncos’ offense, who made it to field goal territory.
Denver put together a methodical drive where they rarely saw third down. The Broncos converted on their first third down of this series. On the second, the Patriots stop Stidham 1 yard shy of the first down marker on third-and-6.
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Instead of attempting the field goal, at the 14-yard line, the Broncos went for it on fourth-and-1. The Patriots’ defense came up with a big stop as Milton Williams hit Stidham, and Craig Woodson broke up the pass attempt at 9:08 of the second quarter.
Offensive line crumbled
The Broncos came into this matchup with the No. 1 pass rush in the NFL. The Patriots quickly found out why.
Maye was sacked three times in the first four drives. Pass protection was the main issue in the team’s fourth series, which came after the defense’s turnover on downs. Maye was sacked by D.J. Jones on first down.
Still, the Patriots gained their first, first down when Maye completed a 20-yard pass to Hollins. However, the quarterback was sacked on third-and-3 by Zach Allen , ending this drive with the team’s fourth punt in as many series.
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Defensive play leads to a touchdown
The Patriots were struggling and needed momentum. That’s when the defense stepped up.
At 2:58 of the second quarter, the Broncos were faced with a third-and-4 at their 33-yard line. The Patriots blitzed, and Christian Ellis nearly had Stidham before the quarterback dropped the ball. Elijah Ponder picked up the football and ran into the end zone.
At first, officials whistled the play dead, ruling it an incomplete pass and intentional grounding. However, the officiating crew reversed the call, saying it was a backward pass, crediting the Patriots with a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
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That’s exactly what the struggling offense needed.
The Patriots took over at the 12-yard line. Two plays later, at 2:10 of the second quarter, Maye ran in for a 6-yard touchdown to tie this game, 7-7.
Team swap missed field goals
Patriots punter Bryce Baringer struggled in the first half, and at the end of the second quarter, it nearly cost the team.
The offense went three-and-out in their final drive. With 57 seconds left in the half, Baringer’s punt traveled just 41 yards, setting the Broncos up near midfield. Stidham completed two passes for gains of 11 and 6 yards. That set up a 54-yard field goal attempt from Will Lutz , but the veteran missed the kick with 24 seconds left in the half.
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Baringer averaged 41.2 yards per punt in the first half, down from his average of 47.4. Broncos’ punter, Jeremy Crawshaw , averaged 50.7 in the first two quarters.
When they got the ball back, Maye ran for 16 yards with 1 second left on the clock to set up a Patriots field goal attempt. Rookie Andy Borregales missed from 63 yards out.
Patriots take first lead
After Maye threw just 41 yards in the first half, the Patriots went heavy on the run game to start the third quarter. It led to their first lead of the AFC title game.
Rhamondre Stevenson picked up two first downs, including on a 12-yard run to get the Patriots’ first drive of the second half started. Next, on third-and-9, Maye escaped the pocket and ran 28 yards to the 17-yard line. Instead of attempting a field goal, at the 8-yard line, the Patriots went for it on fourth-and-1.
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The Patriots brought in defensive tackles Milton Williams and Khyiris Tonga to help push Maye forward for 1 yard. That set up a first-and-goal from the 7-yard line. The offense made it to the 2-yard line, but lost 3 yards before Borregales hit a 23-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 10-7 lead at 5:29 of the third quarter.
Patriots miss another opportunity
It wasn’t easy for Maye to throw the ball against a tough Denver defense. Add in the snow, and it became even more difficult in the second half. In the third quarter, however, Josh McDaniels pulled into his bag of tricks to get the offense downfield.
Unfortunately, it didn’t lead to more points for the Patriots.
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Maye hit Hollins for 31 yards on a trick play flea flicker to get the Patriots into scoring position. However, Borregales missed the 46-yard field goal with 14 seconds left in the third quarter.
With snow falling, the kick had the distance but missed wide right.
This became a snow game
As the game went on, the snow piled onto the field at Mile High Stadium.
When the fourth quarter started, it got so bad that teams couldn’t see the lines on the field, end zone, or the sideline. To rectify the issue, the Broncos had people out on the field with leaf blowers. They cleared the sidelines, end zone, and lines within the red zone on the field.
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The elements seemed to impact both offenses as scoring ground to a halt.
Defense holds, Taylor blocks kick
As the Patriots’ offense struggled, the defense continued to hold strong. Both teams entered the fourth quarter with the Patriots leading, 10-7.
With snow covering the field, the Patriots’ defense continued to swarm the Denver offense. The Broncos’ first drive of the fourth quarter ended in a three-and-out when Marcus Jones broke up a pass intended for Lil’Jordan Humphrey.
The Patriots’ defense allowed a first down on the next drive, but didn’t give an inch after that, and the Broncos punted the ball back to the Patriots with 8:28 on the clock.
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The punt pinned the Patriots back at the 8-yard line. The offense lost a yard and had Baringer punt the ball while standing in the end zone. The punt traveled 26 yards, setting Denver up at the 33-yard line.
The Broncos had a golden opportunity to tie this game. Denver’s first play, a rush by R.J. Harvey, lost 3 yards with Tonga making the play. On third-and-12, Stidham ran for 7 yards, setting up a 45-yard field goal attempt.
With 4:45 left in the game, Lutz’s kick was blocked by Leonard Taylor .
Gonzo ices the game
The Broncos got the ball back with 3:05 left on the clock. It wasn’t long before the defense gave it back to their offense.
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Two plays into this drive, Christian Gonzalez intercepted Stidham with 2:17 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Denver used up its timeouts as the Patriots attempted to run out the clock. It didn’t do them any good as Maye ran for 7 yards on third-and-6, extending the drive and securing the AFC Championship win.
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