It’s been a long six years, but the wait is finally over: the New England Patriots are going back to the Super Bowl.

In a defensively-dominated AFC Championship Game, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel was able to overcome the Denver Broncos and some bad weather to secure a 10-7 victory. Overall, it marks the 12th conference title for the franchise.

The Patriots struggled mightily to move the ball in the first half, with their lone points before intermission coming off a short field following a fumble recovery. The unit showed some improvement in the second half, but points were still hard to come by. Luckily, their defense came to play yet again and with the exception of one touchdown in the first quarter dominated the Broncos throughout the afternoon.

As a consequence, they are now on to Super Bowl LX — a remarkable achievement for a team that went 4-13 in back-to-back seasons before this one and is on its third head coach in as many years.

Updated 2026 NFL playoffs bracket

The NFL playoffs started with seven teams on each side of the bracket, including the second-seeded Patriots. After beating the Los Angeles Chargers on wild card weekend and Houston Texans in the divisional round, they qualified for the AFC title game for the first time since January 2019.

Los Angeles Rams (5) at Carolina Panthers (4) | LA 34, CAR 31

Green Bay Packers (7) at Chicago Bears (2) | GB 27, CHI 31

Buffalo Bills (6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (3) | BUF 27, JAX 24

San Francisco 49ers (6) at Philadelphia Eagles (3) | SF 23, PHI 19

Los Angeles Chargers (7) at New England Patriots (2) | LAC 3, NE 16

Houston Texans (5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (4) | HOU 30, PIT 6

Buffalo Bills (6) at Denver Broncos (1) | BUF 30, DEN 33 (OT)

San Francisco 49ers (6) at Seattle Seahawks (1) | SF 6, SEA 41

Houston Texans (5) at New England Patriots (2) | HOU 16, NE 28

Los Angeles Rams (5) at Chicago Bears (2) | LA 20, CHI 17 (OT)

AFC, NFC Championship results

New England Patriots (2) at Denver Broncos (1) | NE 10, DEN 7

Los Angeles Rams (5) at Seattle Seahawks (1) | LA 27, SEA 31

New England Patriots Super Bowl opponent, details

Super Bowl LX will take place on Sunday, Feb. 8 at 3:40 p.m. ET at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. The Patriots will take on the Seahawks, who beat the Rams in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.