AFC Championship Game Preview Capsule New England Patriots (16-3) at Denver Broncos (15-3) Sunday, 2 p.m. ET Denver, Colorado, Empower Field at Mile High AFC Championship Game appearances: Patriots 16 (11-4), Broncos 11 (8-2) Series History: Broncos are 4-1 against the Patriots in the playoffs.
After a week of the Denver Broncos teasing us with optimism, limited practices, and that specific brand of hope that only exists in the playoffs, the other shoe finally dropped on Friday afternoon.
On Wednesday, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton turned some heads with his message to the denizens of Empower Field at Mile High. Once again, Payton implored Broncos Country to amp up the noise and be rowdy from the time that Drake Maye and the New England Patriots enter the huddle to when the ball is snapped.
The Denver Broncos, riding high on a magical season, lost Bo Nix to a broken ankle in the dying moments of a Divisional Round thriller. The stage is set for the AFC Championship Game.
The Denver Broncos' playoff run continues this week, with the New England Patriots coming to the Mile High City for the AFC championship game. However, the draft season is kicking off while the NFL playoffs march ahead, and the two biggest stops on that trail are the Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl.
The best teams do not always win the Super Bowl. Sometimes, great NFL squads have failed to win a playoff game. Here are the best ones since the AFL-NFL merger to fall short of advancing in a postseason bracket.
After the season-ending injury to Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, Football social media pages debate whether the Broncos should call up quarterbacks not currently on the active roster, such as Cam Newton and Drew Brees, as the Indianapolis Colts did with Phillip Rivers.
The Patriots and Broncos have not wasted any opportunity to throw shots at one another, leading up to Sunday’s AFC Championship game. In the days leading up to the game, we’ve gotten a quote from one side or the other, giving the other team “bulletin board material” through the media.
Out of all the players to wear the orange and blue of the Denver Broncos over the years, few mean as much to the franchise as John Elway. The Hall of Fame quarterback played all 16 seasons of his NFL career in Denver, finally breaking through in 1997 to lead the Broncos to their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
The vibe for the Denver Broncos this week has been somewhere between “cautiously optimistic” and “nervous breakdown.” Losing your starting quarterback right before the biggest game of the year is the kind of scriptwriter cruelty usually reserved for a soap opera, not the AFC Championship.
For years, Thanksgiving belonged to the NFL, but Christmas belonged to the NBA. Occasionally, an NFL game would fall on Christmas, but it was anomalous, even avoided if possible.
The Denver Broncos are facing a quarterback dilemma after losing starter Bo Nix to a season-ending ankle injury just before the AFC Championship game. While Jarrett Stidham is set to take over as the starter, CBS Sports analyst John Breech floated a surprising suggestion: the Broncos should consider giving Colin Kaepernick a call.
The Denver Broncos will be without team captain and starting quarterback Bo Nix on Sunday in the AFC championship game. Jarrett Stidham will start, but he'll have a little John Elway juju at his back.
The Pro Football Writers of America awarded Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph the 2025 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year. Joseph has a long history with the Broncos organization, having served as the team’s head coach from 2017-18, and he’s been the defensive coordinator since 2023.
Kyle Brandt believes Sean Payton’s post-game comments following Bo Nix’s season-ending injury could become one of the defining moments in NFL history. The Denver Broncos head coach went viral after calmly backing Jarrett Stidham as his new starting quarterback, telling reporters to “just watch” how the team responds.
The Denver Broncos' 14-3 finish to the 2025 regular season has drawn the attention of every media outlet imaginable. That includes ESPN 's Seth Walder , who listed seven Broncos on his top 100 'real MVP' candidates of 2025.
While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi suggested that Stidham will prove doubters wrong while making his first meaningful in-game start since January 2024.
Even though the Denver Broncos are set to host the AFC championship game , draft season waits for no team, and it's just begun. Although the playoffs roll on, the Broncos have their scouts scrutinizing the 2026 draft class and working on finding the next group of rookies.
The cold weather could be a real storyline in the AFC Championship Game between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday.
Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi found out about his starting quarterback's fractured ankle when his son told him on their drive home from Sunday's game.
Sean Payton has graduated from beefing with Liam Coen to beefing with opposing players instead. The Denver Broncos head coach Payton spoke with reporters on Thursday before Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.
The Denver Broncos were devastated by Bo Nix's season-ending injury. But since that shocking setback, there's been some positivity on the health front in Denver.
The Denver Broncos are standing on the precipice of a Super Bowl appearance, but they are doing so while facing an uphill battle following a thrilling divisional-round victory.
Denver will go without starting quarterback Bo Nix when it hosts New England in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game, but one of the Broncos’ top offensive linemen could return.