Patriots Beat Broncos/Snow 10-7 To Return To the Super Bowl
Follow us
Follow Us
🕑 Read Time: 4 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots Commentary
HOME > Patriots Blog > Patriots Commentary
And then there were two. The Patriots punched their ticket to Santa Clara and the Super Bowl with a hard-fought 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos. It wasn’t the way they drew it up, but considering the elements, they’ll take it.
It was a fight and a struggle all day, but the Patriots leaned on their defense, and once again the defense responded with another dominant performance, allowing just seven points.
Through three playoff games, the Patriots have allowed just 26 points, less than nine points per game. In doing so, they became the first team to go 9-0 on the road in NFL history. They are truly road warriors and exorcised some past demons from playing in the playoffs in Denver, winning for the first time in five tries. Now they’ll play the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
The defense had a couple of breakdowns in coverage early in the game, but they overcame it and shut down the passing game of Denver, especially in the second half.
After trading three-and-outs, Denver hit a 52-yard pass play on a busted coverage. Christian Gonzalez was in trail coverage on Marvin Mims, expecting over-the-top help. But Jaylinn Hawkins was playing the crosser down low, and Jarrett Stidham delivered a perfect pass that Mims hauled in at the Patriots’ seven-yard line.
Two plays later, another bust in the zone coverage saw Courtland Sutton all alone in the corner of the end zone. Stidham hit him for a six-yard score to make it 7-0, Denver.
The Patriots’ offense wasn’t doing anything, and two drives later, Denver started a drive on their 43. They chipped their way to the Patriots’ 14, facing a fourth-and-one. Sean Payton decided against going for a chip field goal to go up by two scores and went for it.
The Patriots’ defense snuffed out the play, and Milton Williams pressured Stidham, and the pass went incomplete. That changed momentum. Two series later, the pressure started to get to Stidham.
Facing a third-and-four from the 33, Stidham was trying to throw a screen pass. Christian Elliss burst through the line, and Stidham kept backpedaling, and finally, 19 yards later, launched a backward duck that was recovered by Christian Ponder. The Patriots recovered at the 12. Two plays later, Drake Maye ran a QB draw up the middle for a six-yard score, and all of a sudden, the game had a totally different feel to it.
Both teams missed FGs in the closing moments of the first half in the swirling conditions, with Andy Borregales missing from 63 yards.
The Patriots took the third-quarter kickoff and ate up nine and a half minutes of clock on an impressive drive, mainly on the ground, before stalling and kicking a field goal to make it 10-7. By then, the snow had begun falling in earnest, and the conditions deteriorated.
Denver’s offense was shut down, and the Patriots went on another 51-yard drive, but Borregales missed a 46-yard field goal. The teams kept trading punts, but a shank by Bryce Barringer put Denver at the Patriots’ 33-yard line. They went nowhere, but with a chance to tie the game, Patriots’ DT Leonard Taylor partially blocked a field goal attempt and ended the threat.
One final drive before the two-minute warning had an interception by Christian Gonzalez.
Despite getting no credit for their stellar play through three playoff games, the defense shut down the Broncos’ offense, holding them to just seven points.
Denver’s offensive line, which had been characterized by many as one of the best in the league, if not the best, lost the battle in the trenches.
Denver’s running game managed just 79 yards, and just 22 yards after halftime. Stidham, after a nice start, was put in a blender and struggled against relentless pressure from the Patriots’ blitzes.
Stidham finished 17-31 for 133 yards with a TD and an interception. But against pressure, Stidham was 1-10, for 4 yards, with three sacks and two turnovers for a passer rating of 0.0. Stiddy wasn’t ready…
The Patriots’ passing game struggled all game long, primarily due to Denver’s secondary and the weather. Drake Maye was off the entire game due to those factors, uncharacteristically missing receivers.
Maye was under pressure for much of the game and was sacked five times. But most of those were coverage sacks, where Maye was forced to hold the ball too long as Denver’s secondary had very sticky coverage, shutting down the Patriots’ receivers. He finished 10-21 for 86 yards.
Only four receivers caught passes; Kayshon Boutte was targeted six times and had one catch for six yards. Stefon Diggs had five catches for 17 yards. Mack Hollins returned to the lineup and had two catches for 51 yards. Hunter Henry had two catches for 12 yards.
But Maye’s scrambles were the difference in the game. After a turnover deep in Denver territory, Maye scrambled six yards for a touchdown. Overall, he ran 10 times for 65 yards and the score. But in truth, it was seven carries for 68, before the kneeldowns. And he saved the best for last.
With the Patriots trying to run out the clock just before the two-minute warning, the Patriots faced a third-and-five at their own 41-yard line. Maye ran to his left and beat LB Jonah Elliss to the corner for a seven-yard gain.
That sealed the game; the Patriots’ sideline erupted, and Maye had three kneeldowns in victory formation to end the game.
-Christian Barmore and Milton Williams were dominant up front, and as the game wore on, the pressure affected Stidham more and more.
-Mack Hollins returned in a big way with two catches for 51
-The Patriots’ running game figured large in this one, rushing for 141 yards. Rhamondre Stevenson had difficult sledding but managed 71 tough yards.
-The Patriots’ secondary really turned it up a notch after switching to man coverage, contesting everything.
-The defense held Denver to a total of 181 yards of total offense. Once again, all the talk before the game was about Denver’s defense.
Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]
Listen to our PatsFans.com Patriots No Huddle podcasts on Apple and YouTube as Derek Havens, Mike D’Abate, and I discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis
From our archive - this week all-time:
April 12 - April 27 (Through 26yrs)
Join 2,000+ fans getting exclusive stats, analysis, and insights delivered straight to their inbox every week. Never miss a play.
