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 conference: 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: overall (8 ), rush (6 ), pass (9 ), scoring (4 ).
Broncos offense: general (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 touchdown passes in the Patriots ´ divisional round win over Houston. It marked the 13th time in group history that a quarterback had actually thrown a minimum of 3 TD passes in a championship game. It was likewise the most given that Tom Brady had 3 in Super Bowl 52 against Philadelphia.
Jarrett Stidham. Bo Nix's backup hasn't tossed a pass in two seasons and the only snap he played this season began a kneel-down at the end of a blowout over the Dallas Cowboys. Stidham has appeared in 20 games with 4 starts in his six-year NFL career and the Patriots attempted 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 also required Allen to turn the ball over 4 times after he had actually gone six straight championship game without a turnover. Allen had 2 fumbles and two interceptions, consisting of one in overtime. In the playoffs, Maye has been sacked 10 times, thrown 2 interceptions and fumbled six times, losing 3 of them.
Patriots: LB Harold Landry III (knee) has actually been ruled out. CB Carlton Davis (concussion protocol) and LB Marte Mapu (hip) are both doubtful. ... WR Mack Hollins, who has been on injured reserve because Dec. 27 with an abdominal area injury, was triggered on Saturday. He played in the very first 15 games of the season prior to going on IR, capturing 46 passes for 550 lawns and 2 goals.
Broncos: RB J.K. Dobbins, who went back to practice today for the very first time because in mid-November, was ruled out. ... WRs Troy Franklin (hamstring) and Pat Bryant (concussion) both took part in practice this week. Center Luke Wattenberg was activated off hurt reserve. He went on IR with a shoulder injury last month. He took the roster area of Nix (ankle surgery), who went on IR on Saturday, ending his season. The Broncos also promoted WRs Michael Bandy and Elijah Moore from their practice team.
The Broncos have a 4-1 edge in the playoff matchups in between the teams, winning all 4 games in Denver. The 2 most current conferences 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 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 groups in the Super Bowl era to go unbeaten on the road with a new head coach. ... Vrabel is attempting to end up being the 8th coach in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl in his first season with a team. ... Maye has completed 3 of 10 deep passes (20 or more yards) through his very first two playoff video games. The Broncos didn ´ t enable Buffalo ´ s Josh Allen a completion and obstructed him twice on 9 deep pass attempts in the divisional round. ... With a win, Maye would end up being the very first quarterback to win 3 playoff games against top-five defenses in the very same postseason: the Chargers got in the playoffs ranked fifth, the Texans ranked initially, and the Broncos ranked second. ... Maye has been strip-sacked 11 times this season, consisting of the playoffs. The Patriots have recovered 6 of Maye ´ s fumbles on sacks, with 3 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 three quarterbacks in the Super Bowl period with five 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 champion game). ... WR Stefon Diggs has actually played in 16 postseason games and has 75 receptions for 965 lawns and five touchdowns. He requires 35 lawns to end up being the 18th NFL gamer to reach 1,000, and the 3rd Patriots gamer. Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski are the only Patriots gamers to eclipse the mark. ... Diggs has played in the most postseason video games amongst all Patriots players with 16. CB Carlton Davis III is second with 11 postseason video games. ... LB K ´ Lavon Chaisson has 3 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 four in a single postseason. ... The Broncos are 18-5 perpetuity in home championship game considering that their first one in 1977 during the "Orange Crush" age. ... This is Denver's 11th look in the AFC championship video game. ... Stidham is 1-3 in his 4 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 efforts and all 3 of his additional points against Buffalo recently. His 4 basket are one shy of the franchise playoff record of 5 set by Brandon McManus in the playoffs following the 2015 season. ... Last week OLB Nik Bonitto ended up being the third player in Broncos history to force two fumbles in a playoff video game. By stripping the ball from Josh Allen two times, Bonitto joined Von Miller (against Carolina in Super Bowl 50) and Tom Jackson (versus Dallas in Super Bowl 12). ... ILB Alex Singleton's 14 deals with recently, including 11 solo, were the most by a Denver defender in a championship game this century. ... DE Malcolm Roach is coming off a big 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 by means of 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 group's head office 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 against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
