Patriots Pregame Thread Pre-Game thread - 2025 AFC Championship at Denver Broncos

[Ring 6]

Playing on the road is always tough. But this season's edition of the Patriots are the best road warriors in the NFL.

The Patriots are undefeated on the road which is crazy but true. They went 8-0 in the regular season on the road.

That just shows you what a great mental makeup they have and it starts from the top down. Vrabel has give this team a culture where they are not intimidated by anyone and are very well prepared even under adverse conditions.

The Patriots defense is also playing lights out in the playoffs and that usually fuels deep playoff runs when we judge by historic standards.

I know playing in Denver won't be easy. Thin air, hostile environment, crowd factor, etc.

But for good reason, I have confidence this version of the Patriots has a very good chance of winning and advancing to the Superbowl.

I don't believe Maye will have 3 mediocre performances in a row. But he does need to take care of the ball better and we need to protect him better against Denver.

Did you know that Denver's defense has the LOWEST amount of sacks in the entire NFL? They recorded only 23 for the year which is tied for dead last with the Rams. However that only measures how often they actually got the QB to the turf. In terms of defensive pressures the Broncos ranked 3rd in the NFL with a 41.8% pressure rate. They also managed a 39.7% no blitz pressure rate, good for 3rd in the NFL. This means they don't need to rely on the blitz to apply that pressure.

On top of the DL applying pressure they are very good against the run. They are 2nd in the entire NFL in terms of total rushing yards given up this season. So running the ball against them is going to be a tall order. Their pass defense was 11th in yards given up and only gave up 18 passing TDs good for 3rd in the league.

Overall this feels like another defensive matchup. Which defense can suppress the opposing offense better will likely end up the difference in this game. The main difference is I've seen Maye make some big plays when he needs to against an elite Texans defense. I have serious doubts Stidham can do the same against an elite Patriots defense.

Denver had 68 sacks, most in the league, 11 more than #2 and 21 more than Houston.
They were #7 vs the pass.

You quoted their offensive numbers.

They get the most sacks and allow the fewest.

 

[sb1]

Well, it's all come down to this

Attractive but she's always worn tons of makeup for some reason no matter what she's doing.

 

[Steve102]

Well, it's all come down to this

Listened to 98.5 today, eh?

 

[TommyD4207]

I thought JK would be back against Buff (thought I read that). Will he be back on Sunday?
They ran the ball much better with him.
He averaged 77 yds at 5 yards a clip in the 10 games he played.

Coin flip. He could try to go (he's eligible), but it's Lis Franc. That's as 'who the hell knows' as microfracture surgery.

 

[Uptown]

 

[NormZauchin]

There probably has been no starting quarterback in AFC championship history with less experience than Jarrett Stidham. His biggest asset is that almost no game footage of him playing quarterback exists.

 

[TommyD4207]

Lis Franc injuries are tough, man.

Even if he can go, I don't know that he'll be their best option.

 

[Mack Herron]

 

[TommyD4207]

Defense. Short field. Play action
Jake Plummer naked bootleg
Top offensive line in the league
This will be closer than you think

It's absolutely crazy that here, of all places, there are people who ignore there are 21 other players on the field other than the QB on every play.

Fantasy Football Brainrot has fully taken hold, I fear.

 

[scott99]

Can’t take this team lightly. Vrabel will stress that all week. They are 15-3, have a very good defense and some solid offensive weapons and a good Oline. Having McDaniels on our side will help, since he knows Stidham REALLY well. The defense needs to be creative to fool Stidham, just show him things he hasn’t seen.

Maye needs to stop turning the ball over at an alarming pace. He got lucky his defense held up despite the turnovers. We ALL know he can do better. He was the only QB to throw 3 TD passes against the Texans all year. If he had cut his mistakes to 1 INT (Hail Mary) and 1 lost fumble, Pats would’ve won by more than 12. It needs to stop, and they need someone to help Campbell on the left side to eliminate some of those strip sacks.

Maye has this weird phenomenon where he has a good half, and not so good other half of the game. Seems to happen EVERY game. Both playoff games, his stats were better in the 2nd half. Yet he threw 3 TD passes in the 1st half. Maybe he finally figures out the defense in the 2nd half. Yet I’ve seen him have great 1st halves, and meh 2nd halves. It’s weird. Would love to see him dominate for a full 60 minutes. If he does Sunday, they will win the AFCCG.

 

[scott99]

There probably has been no starting quarterback in AFC championship history with less experience than Jarrett Stidham. His biggest asset is that almost no game footage of him playing quarterback exists.

McDaniels knows him better than anyone, that might be huge for the Pats.

 

[patchick]

It occurs to me that the Broncos' MO of 4th-quarter comebacks and the mile-high air are likely related. Denver's 4th-quarter offensive production at home, as the visiting defense just plain runs out of oxygen, has been tremendous.

Get ahead early and don't ease up.

 

[DomCasual]

Just a friendly invitation to come chat with us (or just see what we're saying). We're the largest Broncos board on the Internet (outside, of course, of reddit). You're welcome to come join us. I can't guarantee the reception you'll get - we're lightly moderated. But I like to think we're mostly friendly, if you are. www.orangehuddle.com

 

[Uptown]

I believe he also reffed the second Jets game as well…

 

[TommyD4207]

It occurs to me that the Broncos' MO of 4th-quarter comebacks and the mile-high air are likely related. Denver's 4th-quarter offensive production at home, as the visiting defense just plain runs out of oxygen, has been tremendous.

Get ahead early and don't ease up.

Get a lead early and run clock. Keep the defense off the field as much as possible in the 2nd half.

The Broncos 4th quarter comeback thing isn't just this year - it's their built-in advantage from playing at altitude like you said. Buffalo really blueprinted how to beat them a week ago - and if they didn't turn the ball over 5 ****ing times, they would have won in a walkover.

 

[Rob0729]

BTW, something that has gone underreported is that in recent weeks that Terrell Williams has been in the building much more during the week. I wonder how much that has to do with the impact of this defense really coming on and being more aggressive and playing a lot more man defense. Also makes me wonder how fast the Pats would have transition to this defense if he was here all season and healthy.

I hope he has a 100% recovery no matter what, but I hope it means he is back with the Pats next year if this has a lot to do with him.

 

[n1997y]

Who thinks that Stidham is going to beat the Pats in the AFCCG?

I think Stidham could be the QB of the winning team if the Pats are overconfident and beat themselves in the AFCCG.

Stidham won’t beat them, but he will be the QB of the winning team if the Pats are beaten by the Denver defense outplaying a recently erratic fumble prone second year QB in the biggest game of his career so far, for example.

Bueller??? Buelller???? *crickets*... *crickets*... Bueller??

Answer above. Just to shut those damn crickets up.

 

[DomCasual]

I'm wondering how you all think Drake Maye will do in probably the most hostile environment he's ever played in, with what's at stake in a game like this, with a defense that gets to the quarterback better than any team he's played yet. Not a presumptuous question. I really don't know. I do think that if he isn't more careful with the ball than he was yesterday, we likely win.

 

[Zuma]

 

[upstater1]

I'm wondering how you all think Drake Maye will do in probably the most hostile environment he's ever played in, with what's at stake in a game like this, with a defense that gets to the quarterback better than any team he's played yet. Not a presumptuous question. I really don't know. I do think that if he isn't more careful with the ball than he was yesterday, we likely win.

Does getting to the QB mean sacks? Because while Denver is better than Houston on that, the pressure from Houston was intense.

So, I will say he will be more bothered by the crowd noise than by the pass rush, if that makes sense. It's not like he hasn't seen anything like the Broncos pass rush. He saw it this past weekend.

Noise is very difficult for any QB to deal with.