Patriots' Drake Maye Faces Broncos' D And Jarrett Stidham Actions In
New England (16-3) at Denver (15-3)
Sunday, 3 p.m. EST, CBS/Paramount+
BetMGM NFL odds: Patriots by 5.
Against the spread: Patriots 13-5-1; Broncos 8-9-1.
Series record: Broncos lead 31-24.
Last meeting: won 26-23 in Denver on Dec. 24, 2023.
Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham heats up before an NFL divisional round playoff football game against the Buffalo Bills, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Last week: Patriots beat Texans 28-16; Broncos beat Bills 33-30 in overtime.
Patriots offense: general (3 ), rush (6 ), pass (4 ), scoring (2 ).
Patriots defense: general (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 3 goal passes in the Patriots ´ divisional round win over Houston. It marked the 13th time in team history that a quarterback had tossed a minimum of 3 TD passes in a championship game. It was also the most because Tom Brady had 3 in Super Bowl 52 against Philadelphia.
Jarrett Stidham. Bo Nix's backup hasn't tossed a pass in 2 seasons and the only breeze he played this season came on 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 two 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 likewise forced Allen to turn the ball over four times after he had gone 6 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 two interceptions and fumbled 6 times, losing three of them.
Patriots: LB Harold Landry III (knee) has been ruled out. CB Carlton Davis (concussion protocol) and LB Marte Mapu (hip) are both doubtful. ... WR Mack Hollins, who has actually been on injured reserve since Dec. 27 with an abdomen injury, was triggered on Saturday. He played in the first 15 video games of the season prior to going on IR, capturing 46 passes for 550 lawns and 2 touchdowns.
Broncos: RB J.K. Dobbins, who went back to practice this week for the very first time considering that foot surgical treatment in mid-November, was ruled out. ... WRs Troy Franklin (hamstring) and Pat Bryant (concussion) both got involved in practice this week. Center Luke Wattenberg was activated off injured reserve. He went on IR with a shoulder injury last month. He took the lineup spot 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 team.
The Broncos have a 4-1 edge in the playoff matches in between the groups, winning all 4 games in Denver. The 2 latest meetings remained in the AFC national championship 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 conference between quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
This will be the Patriots ´ 13th look 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 groups in the Super Bowl era to go undefeated on the roadway with a brand-new head coach. ... Vrabel is trying to become the eighth coach in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl in his first season with a group. ... Maye has completed 3 of 10 deep passes (20 or more backyards) through his first 2 championship game. The Broncos didn ´ t allow Buffalo ´ s Josh Allen a completion and intercepted him twice on 9 deep pass attempts in the divisional round. ... With a win, Maye would end up being the first quarterback to win three championship game against top-five defenses in the same postseason: the Chargers went into the playoffs ranked fifth, the Texans ranked first, and the Broncos ranked 2nd. ... Maye has been strip-sacked 11 times this season, consisting of the playoffs. The Patriots have recovered six of Maye ´ s fumbles on sacks, with three healings by LT Will Campbell. The only other quarterbacks strip-sacked 10 or more times because 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 age with five or more turnovers and 10 or more sacks. He signs up with Russell Wilson (2014, lost in the Super Bowl) and Roger Staubach (1973, lost in the NFC national championship). ... WR Stefon Diggs has actually played in 16 postseason games and has 75 receptions for 965 backyards and five touchdowns. He needs 35 backyards to end up being the 18th NFL player to reach 1,000, and the third Patriots gamer. Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski are the only Patriots gamers to eclipse the mark. ... Diggs has played in the most postseason games amongst all Patriots gamers with 16. CB Carlton Davis III is 2nd with 11 postseason 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 a minimum of 4 in a single postseason. ... The Broncos are 18-5 all time in home playoff games considering that their first one in 1977 throughout the "Orange Crush" period. ... This is Denver's 11th look in the AFC champion game. ... Stidham is 1-3 in his four NFL begins with his only victory coming against the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 31, 2023. ... K Wil Lutz made all four of his field-goal attempts and all 3 of his extra points versus Buffalo last week. His four basket 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 championship game. By removing the ball from Josh Allen twice, Bonitto signed up with Von Miller (versus Carolina in Super Bowl 50) and Tom Jackson (against Dallas in Super Bowl 12). ... ILB Alex Singleton's 14 tackles last week, including 11 solo, were the most by a Denver defender in a playoff game this century. ... DE Malcolm Roach is coming off a big video game versus Buffalo. He had 1 1/2 sacks and recovered a fumble.
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye fires a pass throughout an NFL football practice Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe through 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 questions after an NFL football practice at the team's headquarters Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye speaks at a press conference after an NFL divisional playoff football game versus the Houston Texans, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)