{"id":704776,"date":"2026-01-25T21:11:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T21:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/704776\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T21:11:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T21:11:19","slug":"patriots-vs-broncos-score-live-updates-afc-championship-pits-drake-maye-vs-jarrett-stidham-after-bo-nix-injury-winner-advances-to-super-bowl-lx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/704776\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots vs. Broncos score, live updates: AFC championship pits Drake Maye vs. Jarrett Stidham after Bo Nix injury, winner advances to Super Bowl LX"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re one step away from Super Bowl LX, as the New England Patriots battle the Denver Broncos for the right to represent the AFC<\/a> in this year\u2019s big game.<\/p>\n

New England is back in the AFC title game for the first time since the 2018 campaign, where the Patriots advanced and won the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl. This time around, New England is doing it with a second-year quarterback in Drake Maye, who is also an MVP candidate. In last week\u2019s divisional round matchup with Houston, Maye passed for 179 yards and three touchdown tosses<\/a> (and three turnovers) in defeating the Texans, 28-16<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Denver was dealt a tough blow late in its divisional round overtime win against Buffalo<\/a> last week, when starting quarterback Bo Nix suffered a fractured ankle<\/a>. Nix has never missed an NFL game until now, and the timing couldn\u2019t have been worse, happening the week before the AFC championship game. The Broncos\u2019 season and hopes of making it back to the Super Bowl now rest on the shoulders of career backup Jarrett Stidham, who hasn\u2019t made an NFL start since 2023.<\/p>\n

Patriots-Broncos start time: 3 p.m. ET
Location: Empower Field at Mile High | Denver
TV channel, live stream: CBS, Paramount+, NFL+<\/p>\n

Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more as the New England Patriots host the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship.<\/p>\n

Live25 updatesSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:11 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 1:07 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

Patriots inside linebacker Robert Spillane left the game early in the first quarter with an ankle injury. He was ruled as questionable to return after being checked out in the medical tent.<\/p>\n

But Spillane is back on the sideline and looks ready to return.<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

The Patriots were on the verge of having to punt from their 11-yard line. But Drake Maye makes his first big completion of the day, hitting Mack Hollins for a 20-yard gain on third-and-13.<\/p>\n

Hollins is back in the New England lineup after missing four games (including two playoff games) with an abdomen injury that put him on injured reserve.<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:57 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

Denver decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Patriots\u2019 14-yard line, rather than kick a field goal.<\/p>\n

However, Jarrett Stidham threw incomplete on a short pass to RJ Harvey with two New England pass rushers in his face. The pass was nearly intercepted by Craig Woodson.<\/p>\n

That gamble did not pay off for Sean Payton and the Patriots will take over with 9:22 remaining in the second quarter.<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:51 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

Jarrett Stidham makes a nice throw on an out route to Lil\u2019Jordan Humphrey on third-and-3. Two Patriots defensive backs were nearby, but Stidham\u2019s throw was perfectly placed.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s 7-for-11 passing for 79 yards and a touchdown thus far.<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:46 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

The first quarter is done with Denver leading, 7-0.<\/p>\n

New England has only 12 yards of offense thus far. Denver has 92, though 52 came on one play.<\/p>\n

The Broncos will begin the second quarter with first-and-10 at the Patriots\u2019 47-yard line after Jarrett Stidham completed a 7-yard pass to Evan Engram.<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:40 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

On the Patriots\u2019 third series, Drake Maye is sacked for a 9-yard loss on second-and-6 by Que Robinson.<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:36 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

Jarrett Stidham may not have thrown many passes coming into Sunday\u2019s game, but he\u2019s making his completions count.<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:26 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

Denver\u2019s defense has attacked the Patriots\u2019 short passing game thus far. Drake Maye tried a deep throw to Kayshon Boutte on third-and-12, but Pat Surtain II\u2019s tight coverage resulted in an incompletion.<\/p>\n

New England has to punt and the Broncos will take over at their 23-yard line after a 33-yard punt by Bryce Baringer.<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:23 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

Bo Nix liked that play design by Sean Payton and the throw from Jarrett Stidham.<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:20 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

Following the big pass play from Jarrett Stidham to Marvin Mims Jr., the Broncos score the game\u2019s first touchdown.<\/p>\n

On second-and-goal from the 6-yard line, Stidham hits Courtland Sutton on an out route in the back right corner of the end zone.<\/p>\n

Five plays for 59 yards on that Denver touchdown drive.<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:17 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

Jarrett Stidham went 0-for-3 on his first three passes, perhaps working out some nerves while some short throws were called to get him started. (The Patriots\u2019 pass rush made it difficult, as well.)<\/p>\n

But on his fourth pass, Stidham looked deep for Marvin Mims Jr. and hit him for a 52-yard gain.<\/p>\n

Denver has a first-and-goal from the New England 7-yard line.<\/p>\n

\"BenSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:13 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ben Fawkes<\/p>\n

A six-figure wager came in at a BetMGM book about an hour before kickoff, as one bettor wagered $500,000 on the Broncos +3.5.<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:10 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

Rhamondre Stevenson gained 6 yards on his first two carries. But on third-and-4, Drake Maye throws incomplete, looking for Stefon Diggs over the middle. A lot of traffic there; Maye is probably lucky he was not picked off.<\/p>\n

Bryce Baringer punts 44 yards and Denver will take over at its 41-yard line.<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:08 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

After two running plays gained 1 yard, Jarrett Stidham throws incomplete on third-and-9, chased out of the pocket and pursued by Elijah Ponder.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Crawshaw punts 56 yards and the Patriots will take over at their 13-yard line after a 5-yard return by Rhamondre Stevenson.<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 12:04 PM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

The Patriots won the opening coin toss and will defer to the second half. Jarrett Stidham and the Broncos offense will jump right in and take the field first.<\/p>\n

\"BenSun, January 25, 2026 at 11:55 AM PST<\/p>\n

Ben Fawkes<\/p>\n

The betting public is backing the Patriots to cover the spread in the AFC championship game, with over 65% of wagers on New England at multiple sportsbooks.<\/p>\n

The line has dropped from New England -5.5 to -3.5 throughout the week, though, as respected action has come in on the Broncos to push the line down.<\/p>\n

The Patriots are currently 3.5-point road favorites as we approach kickoff.<\/p>\n

\"KateSun, January 25, 2026 at 11:45 AM PST<\/p>\n

Kate Magdziuk<\/p>\n

It\u2019s almost time! The New England Patriots and Denver Broncos kick off the AFC Championship game at 3 p.m. ET, airing live on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ and NFL+!<\/p>\n

\"KateSun, January 25, 2026 at 11:40 AM PST<\/p>\n

Kate Magdziuk<\/p>\n

\"IanSun, January 25, 2026 at 11:31 AM PST<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

Injured Broncos quarterback Bo Nix will watch today\u2019s matchup with the Patriots from a luxury box.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s presumably for safety reasons, if Nix has difficulty moving around and thus could not get out of the way from a player running out of bounds or coaches pacing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019re one step away from Super Bowl LX, as the New England Patriots battle the Denver Broncos for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":704777,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2050],"tags":[115,19272,925,232,258,833,7,221,3872,1167,249,2326,2094,6,208,505],"class_list":["post-704776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-england-patriots","tag-afc","tag-afc-title-game","tag-bo-nix","tag-broncos","tag-denver-broncos","tag-drake-maye","tag-football","tag-houston","tag-jarrett-stidham","tag-new-england","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-newengland","tag-newenglandpatriots","tag-nfl","tag-patriots","tag-super-bowl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115957800313266993","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/704777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}