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 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 video 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: general (2 ), rush (2 ), pass (7 ), scoring (3 ).
Turnover differential: Patriots plus-3; Broncos plus-1.
Drake Maye. The MVP finalist had 3 touchdown passes in the Patriots ´ divisional round win over Houston. It marked the 13th time in group history that a quarterback had actually thrown at least 3 TD passes in a championship game. It was also the most since 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 came on a kneel-down at the end of a blowout over the Dallas Cowboys. Stidham has appeared in 20 video games with 4 starts in his six-year NFL career 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 forced Allen to turn the ball over four times after he had actually gone six straight playoff games without a turnover. Allen had two fumbles and 2 interceptions, consisting of one in overtime. In the playoffs, Maye has been sacked 10 times, tossed two interceptions and fumbled 6 times, losing three of them.
Patriots: LB Harold Landry III (knee) has actually been eliminated. CB Carlton Davis (concussion procedure) and LB Marte Mapu (hip) are both questionable. ... WR Mack Hollins, who has actually been on hurt 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, catching 46 passes for 550 lawns and 2 goals.
Broncos: RB J.K. Dobbins, who returned to practice this week for the first time because foot surgical treatment in mid-November, was ruled out. ... WRs Troy Franklin (hamstring) and Pat Bryant (concussion) both participated in practice today. Center Luke Wattenberg was triggered off hurt 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 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 video games in Denver. The two newest conferences were 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 last meeting in 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 teams in the Super Bowl age to go unbeaten on the roadway with a new head coach. ... Vrabel is attempting to become the 8th coach in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl in his first season with a group. ... Maye has actually completed 3 of 10 deep passes (20 or more backyards) through his first 2 playoff games. The Broncos didn ´ t allow Buffalo ´ s Josh Allen a conclusion and intercepted him twice on nine deep pass efforts in the divisional round. ... With a win, Maye would end up being the very first quarterback to win three playoff video games versus top-five defenses in the same postseason: the Chargers got in the playoffs ranked 5th, the Texans ranked first, and the Broncos ranked second. ... Maye has been strip-sacked 11 times this season, including the playoffs. The Patriots have recovered six of Maye ´ s fumbles on sacks, with three recoveries by LT Will Campbell. The only other quarterbacks strip-sacked 10 or more times given that 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 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 national championship). ... WR Stefon Diggs has played in 16 postseason video games and has 75 receptions for 965 yards and 5 goals. He requires 35 backyards to become the 18th NFL gamer to reach 1,000, and the third Patriots player. Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski are the only Patriots gamers 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 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" era. ... This is Denver's 11th appearance in the AFC champion video game. ... Stidham is 1-3 in his 4 NFL begins with his only triumph coming versus the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 31, 2023. ... K Wil Lutz made all four of his field-goal attempts and all three of his additional points versus Buffalo last week. His 4 field goals 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 became the 3rd player in Broncos history to require two fumbles in a championship game. By removing the ball from Josh Allen two times, Bonitto joined Von Miller (against Carolina in Super Bowl 50) and Tom Jackson (against Dallas in Super Bowl 12). ... ILB Alex Singleton's 14 takes on last week, consisting of 11 solo, were the most by a Denver defender in a championship game this century. ... DE Malcolm Roach is coming off a big video game . 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 through AP)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) strolls off the field after an NFL divisional playoff football video game versus the Houston Texans, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham responds 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 press conference after an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)