Patriots' Drake Maye Faces Broncos' D And Jarrett Stidham Steps In
New England (16-3) at Denver (15-3)
Sunday, 3 p.m. EST, CBS/Paramount+
BetMGM NFL chances: Patriots by 5.
Against the spread: Patriots 13-5-1; Broncos 8-9-1.
Series record: Broncos lead 31-24.
Last meeting: Patriots won 26-23 in Denver on Dec. 24, 2023.
Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham warms up before an NFL divisional round playoff football game against the Buffalo Bills, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Recently: Patriots beat Texans 28-16; Broncos beat Bills 33-30 in overtime.
Patriots offense: general (3 ), rush (6 ), pass (4 ), scoring (2 ).
Patriots defense: total (8 ), rush (6 ), pass (9 ), scoring (4 ).
Broncos offense: overall (10 ), rush (16 ), pass (11 ), scoring (14 ).
Broncos defense: total (2 ), rush (2 ), pass (7 ), scoring (3 ).
Turnover differential: Patriots plus-3; Broncos plus-1.
Drake Maye. The MVP finalist had three goal passes in the Patriots ´ divisional round win over Houston. It marked the 13th time in group history that a quarterback had thrown a minimum of 3 TD passes in a playoff game. It was also the most given that Tom Brady had 3 in Super Bowl 52 versus Philadelphia.
Jarrett Stidham. Bo Nix's backup hasn't thrown a pass in two seasons and the only breeze he played this season began a kneel-down at the end of a blowout over the Dallas Cowboys. Stidham has actually appeared in 20 games with four starts in his six-year NFL profession and the Patriots tried to sign him last spring before he re-signed with Denver for $12 million over 2 years.
Maye versus Denver's defense. The Broncos led the league with a franchise-record 68 sacks this season and sacked Josh Allen 3 times. They also required Allen to turn the ball over four times after he had actually gone six straight championship game without a turnover. Allen had two fumbles and 2 interceptions, consisting of one in overtime. In the playoffs, Maye has actually been sacked 10 times, thrown 2 interceptions and fumbled 6 times, losing three of them.
Patriots: LB Harold Landry III (knee) has been eliminated. CB Carlton Davis (concussion protocol) and LB Marte Mapu (hip) are both questionable. ... WR Mack Hollins, who has been on hurt reserve since Dec. 27 with an abdomen injury, was triggered on Saturday. He played in the very first 15 games of the season prior to going on IR, catching 46 passes for 550 lawns and two goals.
Broncos: RB J.K. Dobbins, who returned to practice this week for the very first time because foot surgery in mid-November, was eliminated. ... WRs Troy Franklin (hamstring) and Pat Bryant (concussion) both participated in practice today. Center Luke Wattenberg was activated off hurt reserve. He went on IR with a shoulder injury last month. He took the lineup area of Nix (ankle surgical treatment), who went on IR on Saturday, ending his season. The Broncos likewise promoted WRs Michael Bandy and Elijah Moore from their practice squad.
The Broncos have a 4-1 edge in the playoff matches in between the groups, winning all 4 games in Denver. The two newest conferences remained in the AFC championship video games throughout the 2013 and 2015 seasons, and were both won by the Broncos. Denver's 20-18 win in the 2015 AFC title video game on Jan. 24, 2016, was the final meeting in between quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
This will be the Patriots ´ 13th appearance in the AFC title video game in the previous 25 seasons. ... The Patriots (Mike Vrabel) and San Francisco 49ers (George Seifert 1989, won the Super Bowl) are the only teams in the Super Bowl era to go unbeaten on the roadway with a brand-new head coach. ... Vrabel is trying to become the 8th coach in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl in his first season with a team. ... Maye has actually completed 3 of 10 deep passes (20 or more yards) through his first two playoff video games. The Broncos didn ´ t permit Buffalo ´ s Josh Allen a conclusion and intercepted him two times on nine deep pass attempts in the divisional round. ... With a win, Maye would end up being the first quarterback to win three championship game versus top-five defenses in the very same postseason: the Chargers entered the playoffs ranked 5th, the Texans ranked initially, and the Broncos ranked 2nd. ... Maye has been strip-sacked 11 times this season, including the playoffs. The Patriots have recuperated 6 of Maye ´ s fumbles on sacks, with three healings by LT Will Campbell. The only other quarterbacks strip-sacked 10 or more times since 2020 are Matt Ryan (11 in 2022), Derek Carr (10 in 2021) and Kirk Cousins (10 in 2021). ... Maye is among 3 quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era with 5 or more turnovers and 10 or more sacks. He joins Russell Wilson (2014, lost in the Super Bowl) and Roger Staubach (1973, lost in the NFC championship video game). ... WR Stefon Diggs has played in 16 postseason games and has 75 receptions for 965 lawns and 5 touchdowns. He requires 35 lawns to become the 18th NFL player to reach 1,000, and the third Patriots gamer. Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski are the only Patriots players to eclipse the mark. ... Diggs has actually played in the most postseason games among all Patriots players with 16. CB Carlton Davis III is second with 11 postseason video games. ... LB K ´ Lavon Chaisson has three sacks this postseason. With another he ´ ll joint Willie McGinest (5 in 2003 and 4 1/2 in 2005) and Garin Veris (4 in 1985) as the only Patriots with at least 4 in a single postseason. ... The Broncos are 18-5 perpetuity in home playoff video games considering that their very first one in 1977 during the "Orange Crush" era. ... This is Denver's 11th appearance in the AFC national championship. ... Stidham is 1-3 in his four NFL begins with his only victory coming versus the Los on Dec. 31, 2023. ... K Wil Lutz made all 4 of his field-goal attempts and all 3 of his extra points versus Buffalo last week. His 4 field goals are one shy of the franchise playoff record of five set by Brandon McManus in the playoffs following the 2015 season. ... Recently OLB Nik Bonitto ended up being the 3rd player in Broncos history to require 2 fumbles in a playoff game. By stripping the ball from Josh Allen twice, Bonitto joined Von Miller (against Carolina in Super Bowl 50) and Tom Jackson (against Dallas in Super Bowl 12). ... ILB Alex Singleton's 14 deals with last week, including 11 solo, were the most by a Denver defender in a playoff video game this century. ... DE Malcolm Roach is coming off a huge game versus Buffalo. He had 1 1/2 sacks and recuperated a fumble.
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye fires a pass during an NFL football practice Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via AP)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) walks off the field after an NFL divisional playoff football game versus the Houston Texans, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham reacts to concerns after an NFL football practice at the group's headquarters Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye speaks at a news conference after an NFL divisional playoff football video game versus the Houston Texans, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)