By Tiffany Williams –
DENVER — The New England Patriots are going back to the Super Bowl again, and they did it the hard way, the cold way, the old way.
In thin air, against the NFL’s No. 2 defense, in a game that never found rhythm or beauty, the Patriots leaned on the run, leaned on their defense, leaned on mistake-free football and walked out of Denver with a 10–7 win that sent them to their 12th Super Bowl and their 11th under Robert Kraft.
This was not an offensive showcase. This was control. This was survival. This was New England dragging the game into the mud and daring the Broncos to escape.
Denver never did.
The Patriots finished with just 206 total yards and only 65 passing yards, but they won the possession battle by more than six minutes, committed one penalty, forced two turnovers, and allowed exactly one touchdown. When it was over, New England had done enough, and Denver had done nothing else.
The Patriots are now the first team in NFL history to win a postseason game in Denver. They are also now the first team to win five road games in conference championship games, an NFL record. They improved to 40 postseason wins, the most in league history.
And they did it with a quarterback who still isn’t old enough to rent a car.
Drake Maye completed 10 of 21 passes for 86 yards, was sacked five times, threw no touchdowns and no interceptions, and finished with a passer rating of 58.8. None of it mattered. Maye scored the Patriots’ only touchdown himself, a six-yard run late in the second quarter that tied the game, and avoided the mistake that Denver desperately needed.
Maye has now gone 28 consecutive starts without throwing multiple interceptions, the longest active streak in the NFL and the longest streak ever by a Patriots quarterback. Tom Brady’s previous franchise mark was 21.
Maye also joined Dan Marino and Ben Roethlisberger as the only quarterbacks to reach the Super Bowl before their 24th birthday. He is the fourth quarterback since 2000 to win each of his first three career playoff starts, joining Brady, Joe Burrow and Jake Delhomme.
Most remarkably, Maye is the first quarterback in NFL history to win three games against top-five defenses in a single playoff. The Los Angeles Chargers entered ranked No. 5, the Houston Texans No. 1, and the Denver Broncos No. 2.
The Patriots’ formula against all three was identical: shorten the game, dominate the ground, protect the ball, and suffocate everything else.
New England ran the ball 38 times for 141 yards. Rhamondre Stevenson carried 25 times for 71 yards, grinding through contact and chewing clock. Maye added 10 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown. TreVeyon Henderson chipped in three carries. The Patriots converted 10 rushing first downs and finished 6-for-18 on third down, many of them coming in the second half as the clock became their ally.
The defining drive of the game came midway through the third quarter. New England took the ball at its own 36-yard line and embarked on a 16-play, 64-yard march that consumed 9:31 of game time. The drive ended with Andy Borregales drilling a 23-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 10–7 lead with 5:29 left in the third quarter.
Denver never scored again.
The Broncos had opportunities early. Jarrett Stidham led a sharp opening drive, completing passes to Marvin Mims Jr. and Courtland Sutton before hitting Sutton for a six-yard touchdown at the 10:19 mark of the first quarter. It would be the last time Denver reached the end zone.
Stidham finished 17 of 31 for 133 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked three times and fumbled once, losing it. The Broncos totaled just 79 rushing yards on 24 attempts and averaged 3.1 yards per play.
New England’s defense dictated everything after the first quarter. Christian Gonzalez intercepted Stidham in the second half. The Patriots recorded three sacks, seven quarterback hits, and allowed Denver to convert just 4 of 14 third downs. The Broncos went 0-for-1 on fourth down.
Carlton Davis III led New England with seven total tackles. Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, Jack Gibbens and K’Lavon Chaisson were active throughout. Christian Barmore, Anfernee Jennings and Milton Williams helped collapse the interior. The Patriots finished with 59 total tackles, four tackles for loss, and three sacks.
Denver’s defense played well enough to win most games. It did not force New England into the kind of mistake that would flip this one.
Stefon Diggs caught five passes for 17 yards, pushing him to 80 career postseason receptions. He became the 11th player in NFL history to reach that mark and the ninth to do so in 11 seasons or fewer. Mack Hollins returned from injured reserve and made an immediate impact with two catches for 51 yards, including a 31-yard grab that flipped field position.
Hunter Henry, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas and Stevenson combined for modest contributions in a passing game that never found flow. It didn’t need to.
The Patriots finished with zero turnovers, one penalty, and complete control of tempo. They held the ball for 33:09. Denver had it for just 26:51.
This was a game that ended not with a dramatic stop, but with inevitability. Denver got the ball back late and still could not move it. The Patriots closed the door the same way they had opened it, with discipline and patience.
With the win, New England completed one of the most dramatic turnarounds in NFL history. The Patriots went 4–13 in 2024. They are now 14–3 in 2025 and headed to the Super Bowl.
They became the 15th team to reach the Super Bowl a year after finishing with a losing record. The Patriots have now done that three times, reaching the Super Bowl in 1996 after a 6–10 season and in 2001 after a 5–11 season.
This season, New England became the ninth team to go from “worst to first” and make the Super Bowl in the same year. That list includes the 1981 Bengals, 1988 Bengals, 1999 Rams, 2001 Patriots, 2003 Panthers, 2009 Saints, 2017 Eagles and 2021 Bengals. Of that group, the Rams, Patriots, Eagles and Saints won the Super Bowl.
Mike Vrabel also added a rare line to his résumé. He became the seventh coach to lead the team he once played for to a Super Bowl berth.
There were personnel adjustments along the way. Anfernee Jennings started at linebacker in place of Harold Landry III, who was out with an injury. Rookie linebacker Bradyn Swinson played in his first postseason game after being inactive for the first two playoff rounds.
Khyiris Tonga again saw snaps at fullback. Milton Williams took his first-ever offensive snaps on a fourth-and-1 play in the third quarter.
None of it disrupted the Patriots’ structure. Nothing ever seems to.
The Patriots did not dominate the stat sheet. They dominated the moments that mattered. They ran when Denver knew they would run. They tackled. They avoided penalties. They protected the football. They waited.
When the final whistle blew, the scoreboard showed only a three-point margin. The gap between the teams felt much larger.
New England is back in the Super Bowl – again.