Patriots, Broncos Bracing for Arctic Blast Amid Massive Winter Storm

The National Weather Service warns of "arctic cold and light snow" in the Denver area this weekend. Sunday's frigid forecast includes a low temperature of 7 degrees and a high of 28, with the wind chill never climbing above 16 degrees. According to CBS Colorado, these represent the lowest temperatures for a Broncos home game this season.

The Denver metro area is expected to get 1 to 2 inches of snow from Friday into Saturday morning. Thankfully for fans heading to the game, there is only a 10 percent chance of snow on Sunday. However, the consistent freezing temperatures all weekend mean that there is a risk of slick travel conditions if ice and snow accumulate.

The fact that the Broncos are hosting is preferable to a Patriots home game this weekend. The nationwide winter storm is expected to bring up to one foot of snow in Boston, primarily on Sunday.

Despite lower temperatures, the playing conditions are likely to be better in Denver than they were for the Patriots' snowy divisional round game last week in Foxboro. Their 28-16 win over the Houston Texans featured eight combined turnovers and four fumbles by Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.

The weather may not be ideal for the AFC Championship Game, but both teams feature strong defenses built for playoff football in January. New England boasts an 8-0 record on the road this season, showing an ability to win in unfriendly environments like the one they will face in Denver.

The Broncos-Patriots game kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on CBS. The winner will advance to Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara on Feb. 9 against either the Seattle Seahawks or the Los Angeles Rams.