Drake Maye, Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots are back in the AFC championship game for the first time since Tom Brady and Bill Belichick led them to eight in a row from 2011-18.<\/p>\n
Maye threw three touchdown passes and a tenacious defense forced five turnovers in a 28-16 victory<\/a> over C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans on a rainy, snowy Sunday. <\/p>\n \u201cThey bring it every week,\u201d Maye said of the Patriots\u2019 defense. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to watch. We can help them some more. Proud of the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n The Patriots (16-3) visit the Denver Broncos (15-3) next Sunday at 3 p.m. EST in their 16th appearance in the conference title game. They\u2019ll face backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham<\/a>, who is replacing injured starter Bo Nix<\/a>. <\/p>\n Peyton Manning and a dominant defense led the Broncos to a 20-18 victory over Brady and the Patriots in Denver\u2019s last appearance in the conference title game 10 years ago. Brady led New England to a 37-31 overtime victory against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs on Jan. 20, 2019 on the franchise\u2019s way to a sixth Super Bowl title.<\/p>\n The Patriots are 11-4 in the AFC title game. They were 4-13 last season under Jerod Mayo but Vrabel, a Patriots Super Bowl champion linebacker, took over and turned the team around quickly.<\/p>\n Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks are in the NFC championship game after dominating the injury-riddled San Francisco 49ers<\/a> on Saturday night. Seattle (15-3) will host the Rams-Bears winner in the Championship Sunday doubleheader.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Josh Allen<\/a> and the Buffalo Bills fell short again, with questionable officiating playing a role in Denver\u2019s 33-30 victory<\/a> in overtime that sent the Broncos to the conference championship game for the 12th time in franchise history. Denver is 8-3 in those games.<\/p>\n Nix broke his right ankle on Denver\u2019s final series. Coach Sean Payton said the second-year QB will have surgery on Tuesday. Stidham, who is 1-3 in seven seasons, will start the AFC title game. He was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2019 draft to back up Brady.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I have a (No.) 2 (quarterback) that\u2019s capable of starting for a handful of, a number of teams,\u201d Payton said. \u201cI know he feels the same way. So watch out. Just watch.\u201d<\/p>\n In the NFC, No. 2 seed Chicago (12-6) was a home underdog against No. 5 seed Los Angeles (13-5) in Sunday\u2019s second game.<\/p>\n The Seahawks got a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Rashid Shaheed to open the game and never trailed in a 41-6 rout of San Francisco (13-6). Seattle\u2019s stingy defense held Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and the Niners to 236 yards and forced three turnovers.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Seattle\u2019s fifth trip to a conference title game and first in 11 years. The Seahawks are 3-1, losing their first. <\/p>\n Allen and the Bills (13-6) again were denied an opportunity to win the franchise\u2019s first Lombardi Trophy. Buffalo has been knocked out in the divisional or championship rounds in six straight seasons under Allen and coach Sean McDermott.<\/p>\n Allen and Nix traded go-ahead touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and Buffalo\u2019s Matt Prater kicked a 50-yarder to send it to overtime.<\/p>\n After the Broncos punted on the opening drive, Allen threw a deep pass to Brandin Cooks that would have put the Bills in field-goal range, but Ja\u2019Quan McMillian snatched it away for an interception as both players tumbled to the ground.<\/p>\n