The AFC Championship Game on Sunday afternoon delivered a cold-weather clash between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos, the two best teams in the conference all season. Fittingly, even with Bo Nix out, we got a great matchup in the AFC title game to determine who is headed to the Super Bowl.
Let’s dive into our winners and losers from the Patriots vs Broncos in the AFC Championship Game, with New England getting back on top as AFC champions.
Winner: Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots
There is a reason dual-threat quarterbacks will be prioritized in the modern NFL. Drake Maye could not get anything going through the air on Sunday in Denver, finishing with just 65 net passing yards on 26 dropbacks. It was not his arm that won this game for New England. Maye 65 rushing yards, including New England lone touchdown and his game-sealing 7-yard run on 3rd-and-5, proved critical. Maye has not been outstanding in the NFL playoffs, but he has always made the plays when New England absolutely needed them.
Loser: Sean Payton, Denver Broncos Head Coach
Sean Payton made it no secret how much confidence he had in Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham coming into the AFC Championship Game. Hubris is a dangerous thing, and it certainly felt costly for Denver. In the second quarter from the Patriots 14-yard line, the Broncos had 4th-and-1 with an opportunity to take a 10-point lead with a field goal. Everyone knew this would be a low-scoring game, but Payton treated the situation like he had Bo Nix in and Denver could not settle for field goals. The fourth-down attempt failed.
Then, right before halftime, Denver had a 2nd-and-10 from the Patriots 40-yard line with 41 seconds left. Instead of simply positioning for a shorter field goal attempt, Payton let Stidham play aggressive. Denver wound up having to settle for a 54-yard field goal, which Wil Lutz missed. Payton overconfidence in his backup quarterback cost the Broncos 6 points today.
Winner: Marvin Mims, WR, Denver Broncos
With a backup quarterback in, a single play could make the difference in the AFC title game. Denver wideout Marvin Mims Jr. used his long speed to beat Christian Gonzalez deep downfield, hauling in a 52-yard reception to set the Broncos offense at the Patriots 7-yard line. Two plays later, Stidham hit a wide-open Courtland Sutton for the first touchdown of the game. That huge play by Mims proved even more crucial because the weather and Stidham struggles prevented Denver from doing anything else explosively through the air.
Loser: Andy Borregales, K, New England Patriots
New England rookie kicker was not exactly thrown into a great situation in the AFC Championship Game. Before halftime, the team asked him to attempt a boom of a kick from 63 yards out, and he missed wide left. He knocked in a chip shot on the very next drive to give the Patriots the lead. However, the wind and snow did him no favors on his third try. Following an eight-play, 51-yard drive, Borregales hooked a 46-yard field goal attempt wide right that would have put New England up by a touchdown. It also gave Denver some much-needed confidence with a chance to tie the game in the fourth quarter with a field goal. Context matters here for Borregales, but he still went 1-for-3 on field goal attempts.
Winner: Vance Joseph, Denver Broncos Defensive Coordinator
Coming into the AFC Championship Game, the Broncos defense had one of the highest man coverage rates in the NFL. It had been a staple of this unit under defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. With a Super Bowl at stake, the Denver defensive play-caller threw something new at Drake Maye and the Patriots. Before the huge wind gusts and non-stop snow took over the game, the Broncos held the Patriots offense to 72 total yards in the first half, including -2 net passing yards in the first quarter. That was the fifth-fewest net passing yards in the first quarter of an AFC title game since 1991. One key to all of this? As noted by Ben Solak, Joseph deployed a season-high zone coverage rate. It was a defensive clinic from Denver, exactly what it needed with a backup quarterback under center.
Loser: Jarrett Stidham, QB, Denver Broncos
Outside of the touchdown drive, Jarrett Stidham wasn’t good in the AFC title game. We will start with the turnovers. On 3rd-and-long from the Denver 21-yard line with the team leading 7-0, he scrambled backward and lost the football on a strip-sack/backward pass that gave New England the football at the Broncos 12-yard line. He gift-wrapped 7 points to the Patriots. Evidently, he was not done. With the Denver season on the line, Stidham just lofted one up on 1st-and-10, with the deflated deep ball getting easily picked off by Christian Gonzalez. We could also point to Stidham stepping out of bounds for the 1-yard sack before halftime instead of throwing the football away. Perhaps Wil Lutz makes the field goal or it is 1 yard closer. Or, perhaps a few extra seconds on the clock do not even give the Patriots a chance at that field goal attempt (missed) before the half.
Winner: Christian Gonzalez, CB, New England Patriots
Christian Gonzalez made rare mistakes on the Denver touchdown drive. He locked in after that, performing like an All-Pro. After snagging a pass breakup earlier in the day, Gonzalez made the leaping interception grab that sunk the dagger into the Broncos hearts. Just a few years after being the 17th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Gonzalez is now one of the biggest reasons why the Patriots are headed to the Super Bowl.
Winner: Leonard Taylor III, DT, New England Patriots
There is always an unlikely hero who makes a play to help his team reach the Super Bowl. In the AFC Championship Game, it was defensive tackle Leonard Taylor for the Patriots. The 6-foot-3 defensive lineman only played 55 defensive snaps in the regular season and he was primarily used on special teams today. However, he got his arm up and used that massive frame to deflect the potential game-tying field goal by Wil Lutz. That proved to be the game-deciding play. Not bad for a former undrafted free agent.
