The snow, at least, was new this year. There were no hints of any flurries back in 2013, when New England marched into Denver in the AFC title game. There were clear skies two years later, too, when the Broncos found themselves again having to duel Tom Brady for a shot at the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n
Denver and New England\u2019s whiteout matchup in the AFC Championship in 2025, though, brought back several degrees of recent history. Back to the days of Brady, and Peyton Manning, and the last time the stands at Empower Field rocked as loudly as they did this winter. Back to a Broncos group that knew quite well, as ex-Denver running back C.J. Anderson recalled, who they\u2019d have to go through in the AFC to get to a Lombardi Trophy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s interesting to see like \u2014 it\u2019s them two at the top of the apex,\u201d Anderson told The Denver Post this week. \u201cI think for us, it was like, we knew that we were going to run into Ben (Roethlisberger). Or we were going to run into Brady.\u201d<\/p>\n
History has repeated itself, a decade later. These Broncos have thrust their Super Bowl window wide open after a 2025 season where they came three points and a blizzard away from a trip to the Super Bowl last Sunday. They built a team to climb over the Chiefs and the Patrick Mahomes hump. They built a team to climb over the Bills and the Josh Allen hump.<\/p>\n
Now, though, they\u2019ll have to build for a future where they can topple the Patriots, a similarly young team that also employs a culture-changing head coach and a second-year quarterback still on his rookie deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cDenver\u2019s a great team,\u201d Patriots receiver Trent Sherfield said, sitting at his locker Sunday after New England\u2019s loss to Seattle in the Super Bowl. \u201cThis team\u2019s a great team. Like, you\u2019re in the first year of a rebuild, and you get to the Super Bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo,\u201d Sherfield continued, \u201cit\u2019s gon\u2019 be real competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Bo](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/TDP-L-BRONCOS-BILLSAO2_0660x.jpg\")
Bo Nix (10) of the Denver Broncos roars after throwing a touchdown pass to Marvin Mims Jr. (19) during the fourth quarter of the Broncos\u2019 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Saturday, January 17, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n
Sherfield, of course, saw both franchises\u2019 ascent firsthand in 2025, after spending half the year as the Broncos\u2019 fifth wide receiver and the end of the season on New England\u2019s practice squad. He sees a future where Denver and New England \u2014 who both went 14-3 in 2025 \u2014 will have to go through each other, once again. And where quarterbacks Bo Nix and Drake Maye go head-to-head across the future playoff runs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Bo\u2019s arm talent, being able to run the ball, extend plays, turn a bad play into a good one \u2014 I think they have a lot in common,\u201d Sherfield said. \u201cI feel like that\u2019s gonna be, probably, an AFC Championship for a couple of years. Kinda like how Patrick Mahomes is always in it.I think that those two will be going at each other for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, the two quarterbacks have yet to actually face off in their NFL careers, after Nix\u2019s fractured ankle heard \u2019round the world. And several Broncos made it quite publicly known that they believed they should\u2019ve been in the Bay Area if a couple of factors had broken differently, as the Seahawks\u00a0 dominated the Patriots from kickoff to triple zeroes in a 29-13 win.<\/p>\n