Denver — Drake Maye ran for 68 yards and threw for 86 yards in sloppy, snowy conditions and scored New England’s only touchdown on a 6-yard keeper, propelling the Patriots to their 12th Super Bowl title with a 10-7 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Christian Gonzalez intercepted Jarrett Stidham, starting in place of the injured Bo Nix, at New England’s 36 with 2:11 remaining and the Patriots (17-3) earned their first playoff win in Denver when Maye ran for 7 yards on third-and-5 from his own 41.
New England became the third team in the Super Bowl era to win the conference championship by 10 or fewer points. Buffalo beat Denver 10-7 in the 1991 AFC title game, and the Los Angeles Rams beat Tampa Bay 9-0 in the 1979 NFC Championship game.
The Broncos (15-4) finished one step shy of fulfilling Sean Payton’s preseason expectations with a trip to Super Bowl 60.
Both kickers missed field goals in the frigid conditions with Denver’s Wil Lutz and New England’s Andy Borregalis on long attempts before the snow fell in the first half.
“It wasn’t ideal,” May said of the conditions. “The defense, they’ve stepped it up all playoffs. We’re going to play better. But man, I’m proud of this team. … It took everyone.”
The Patriots fell behind 7-0, but had a key stop on fourth down near their own end zone to spark a comeback. It was their 40th win in the playoffs, breaking a tie with the San Francisco 49ers for the most in NFL history.
It was sunny at kickoff with a temperature of 26 degrees, but by halftime icicles started falling and the staff had to use snow plows to set markers and yard lines by the fourth quarter, when the temperature was 16 degrees.
After gaining just 72 yards in the first half, the Patriots opened the second half in the snow with a 16-play, 64-yard drive that consumed 9 1/2 minutes and ended with a 23-yard field goal by Borregalis that gave New England its first lead at 10–7.
The Patriots managed just four first downs and 72 yards in the first half, punting five times and missing a field goal. But they took advantage of a short field when New England’s defense set up Maye at the Denver 12 with a quick shot and Maye took it from 6 yards out to tie it at 7 at halftime.
Stepping in for the injured Knicks (ankle surgery), Stidham’s first completion since the end of the 2023 regular season was a 52-yard tumble to Marvin Mims Jr. To the New England 7 that set up Courtland Sutton’s 6-yard catch that started the scoring.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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