Drake Maye, Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots are back in the AFC championship game for the first time since Tom Brady and Bill Belichick led them to eight in a row from 2011-18.
Maye threw three touchdown passes and a tenacious defense forced five turnovers in a 28-16 victory over C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans on a rainy, snowy Sunday.
“They bring it every week,” Maye said of the Patriots' defense. “It's fun to watch. We can help them some
more. Proud of the guys.”
The Patriots (16-3) visit the Denver Broncos (15-3) next Sunday at 3 p.m. EST in their 16th appearance in the conference title game. They'll face backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who is replacing injured starter Bo Nix.
Peyton Manning and a dominant defense led the Broncos to a 20-18 victory over Brady and the Patriots in Denver's last appearance in the conference title game 10 years ago. Brady led New England to a 37-31 overtime victory against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs on Jan. 20, 2019 on the franchise's way to a sixth Super Bowl title.
The Patriots are 11-4 in the AFC title game. They were 4-13 last season under Jerod Mayo but Vrabel, a Patriots Super Bowl champion linebacker, took over and turned the team around quickly.
Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks are in the NFC championship game after dominating the injury-riddled San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night. Seattle (15-3) will host the Rams-Bears winner in the Championship Sunday doubleheader.
Meanwhile, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills fell short again, with questionable officiating playing a role in Denver's 33-30 victory in overtime that sent the Broncos to the conference championship game for the 12th time in franchise history. Denver is 8-3 in those games.
Nix broke his right ankle on Denver's final series. Coach Sean Payton said the second-year QB will have surgery on Tuesday. Stidham, who is 1-3 in seven seasons, will start the AFC title game. He was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2019 draft to back up Brady.
“I feel like I have a (No.) 2 (quarterback) that’s capable of starting for a handful of, a number of teams,” Payton said. “I know he feels the same way. So watch out. Just watch.”
In the NFC, No. 2 seed Chicago (12-6) was a home underdog against No. 5 seed Los Angeles (13-5) in Sunday's second game.
The Seahawks got a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Rashid Shaheed to open the game and never trailed in a 41-6 rout of San Francisco (13-6). Seattle's stingy defense held Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and the Niners to 236 yards and forced three turnovers.
It's Seattle's fifth trip to a conference title game and first in 11 years. The Seahawks are 3-1, losing their first.
Allen and the Bills (13-6) again were denied an opportunity to win the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy. Buffalo has been knocked out in the divisional or championship rounds in six straight seasons under Allen and coach Sean McDermott.
Allen and Nix traded go-ahead touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and Buffalo’s Matt Prater kicked a 50-yarder to send it to overtime.
After the Broncos punted on the opening drive, Allen threw a deep pass to Brandin Cooks that would have put the Bills in field-goal range, but Ja’Quan McMillian snatched it away for an interception as both players tumbled to the ground.
Officials quickly reviewed the play and upheld the call, a decision that McDermott criticized after the game. The Broncos took over at their own 20.
“That’s too big of a play, in my estimation, too big of a play in a play that decided the game, potentially as well, to not even slow it down,” McDermott said of the expedited review process.
Two pass-interference penalties on Buffalo gave the Broncos 47 yards and set up Lutz’s winning kick. Tre’davious White, who was called for the second one that moved the ball to Buffalo's 8, threw his helmet down in disgust while arguing and got an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty.
Since the NFL expanded the playoff field to 14 teams in 2020, only one team in each conference gets a bye. Those No. 1 seeds are now 9-3 in the divisional round. The 2022 Chiefs are the only No. 1 seed to win the Super Bowl in that span.
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