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 heats up before an NFL divisional round playoff football video game versus 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: overall (8 ), rush (6 ), pass (9 ), scoring (4 ).
Broncos offense: general (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 three touchdown 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 three TD passes in a playoff game. It was likewise the most since Tom Brady had three in Super Bowl 52 versus Philadelphia.
Jarrett Stidham. Bo Nix's backup hasn't thrown a pass in 2 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 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 likewise forced Allen to turn the ball over four times after he had 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 protocol) and LB Marte Mapu (hip) are both doubtful. ... 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, capturing 46 passes for 550 yards and two touchdowns.
Broncos: RB J.K. Dobbins, who returned to practice this week for the very first time since foot surgical treatment 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 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 team.
The Broncos have a 4-1 edge in the playoff matches in between the teams, winning all four games in Denver. The two newest conferences were 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 game on Jan. 24, 2016, was the final conference in between quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
This will be the Patriots ´ 13th look in the video game in the past 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 period to go unbeaten on the road with a brand-new head coach. ... Vrabel is attempting to become the eighth coach in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl in his first season with a group. ... Maye has actually finished 3 of 10 deep passes (20 or more lawns) through his first two playoff games. The Broncos didn ´ t enable Buffalo ´ s Josh Allen a completion and obstructed 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 playoff video games against top-five defenses in the very same postseason: the Chargers entered the playoffs ranked fifth, the Texans ranked initially, and the Broncos ranked 2nd. ... Maye has been strip-sacked 11 times this season, consisting of the playoffs. The Patriots have actually recuperated six of Maye ´ s fumbles on sacks, with three healings by LT Will Campbell. The only other quarterbacks strip-sacked 10 or more times considering 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 era 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 national championship). ... WR Stefon Diggs has actually played in 16 postseason games and has 75 receptions for 965 lawns and five touchdowns. He needs 35 lawns to become the 18th NFL gamer to reach 1,000, and the 3rd Patriots player. Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski are the only Patriots gamers to eclipse the mark. ... Diggs has played in the most postseason video games among all Patriots players 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 at least four in a single postseason. ... The Broncos are 18-5 all time in home playoff video games given that their very first one in 1977 during the "Orange Crush" period. ... This is Denver's 11th look in the AFC national championship. ... 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 efforts and all three of his additional points against Buffalo recently. His four basket are one shy of the franchise playoff record of 5 set by Brandon McManus in the playoffs following the 2015 season. ... Recently OLB Nik Bonitto became the third player in Broncos history to force 2 fumbles in a championship game. By removing the ball from Josh Allen two times, Bonitto signed up with Von Miller (against Carolina in Super Bowl 50) and Tom Jackson (versus 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 championship game this century. ... DE Malcolm Roach is coming off a huge game against 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 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 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 versus the Houston Texans, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)