Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are gone, but the New England Patriots are still here, and still playing for Super Bowls. Thanks to their 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game, the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl for the 12th time in franchise history and the first time in the post-Brady era.
They will be trying to become the first team to ever win seven Super Bowls when they play in Santa Clara in Super Bowl LX in two weeks.
Quarterback play was the difference in this game
Quarterback play is usually the difference come playoff time, and even though Patriots quarterback Drake Maye did not post great numbers (just 10-for-21 and 86 yards passing) he still did something really important in this game: He avoided the big mistake.
He avoided the big mistake in the first half when the weather conditions were good.
He avoided the big mistake in the second half when the weather conditions were lousy.
The same could not be said for Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
Stidham might have been one of the most important plays in the game late in the second quarter when he panicked under pressure and threw a backwards pass that was eventually recovered by New England. It produced the Patriots’ only touchdown of the game when Maye scored on a quarterback run.
