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01/18 17:43 CST Patriots will face Broncos in the AFC title game. Seahawks wait
for Rams-Bears winner in the NFC
Patriots will face Broncos in the AFC title game. Seahawks wait for Rams-Bears
winner in the NFC
By ROB MAADDI
AP Pro Football Writer
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.
Maye threw three touchdown passes and a tenacious defense forced five turnovers
in a 28-16 victory over C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans on a rainy, snowy
Sunday.
"They bring it every week," Maye said of the Patriots' defense. "It's fun to
watch. We can help them some more. Proud of the guys."
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'll face backup
quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who is replacing injured starter Bo Nix.
Peyton Manning and a dominant defense led the Broncos to a 20-18 victory over
Brady and the Patriots in Denver's 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's way to a sixth Super
Bowl title.
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.
Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks are in the NFC championship game after
dominating the injury-riddled San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night. Seattle
(15-3) will host the Rams-Bears winner in the Championship Sunday doubleheader.
Meanwhile, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills fell short again, with questionable
officiating playing a role in Denver's 33-30 victory 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.
Nix broke his right ankle on Denver's 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.
"I feel like I have a (No.) 2 (quarterback) that's capable of starting for a
handful of, a number of teams," Payton said. "I know he feels the same way. So
watch out. Just watch."
In the NFC, No. 2 seed Chicago (12-6) was a home underdog against No. 5 seed
Los Angeles (13-5) in Sunday's second game.
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's stingy defense held Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and the Niners
to 236 yards and forced three turnovers.
It's Seattle's fifth trip to a conference title game and first in 11 years. The
Seahawks are 3-1, losing their first.
Allen and the Bills (13-6) again were denied an opportunity to win the
franchise's first Lombardi Trophy. Buffalo has been knocked out in the
divisional or championship rounds in six straight seasons under Allen and coach
Sean McDermott.
Allen and Nix traded go-ahead touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and
Buffalo's Matt Prater kicked a 50-yarder to send it to overtime.
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'Quan
McMillian snatched it away for an interception as both players tumbled to the
ground.
Officials quickly reviewed the play and upheld the call, a decision that
McDermott criticized after the game. The Broncos took over at their own 20.
"That's too big of a play, in my estimation, too big of a play in a play that
decided the game, potentially as well, to not even slow it down," McDermott
said of the expedited review process.
Two pass-interference penalties on Buffalo gave the Broncos 47 yards and set up
Lutz's winning kick. Tre'davious White, who was called for the second one that
moved the ball to Buffalo's 8, threw his helmet down in disgust while arguing
and got an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty.
Since the NFL expanded the playoff field to 14 teams in 2020, only one team in
each conference gets a bye. Those No. 1 seeds are now 9-3 in the divisional
round. The 2022 Chiefs are the only No. 1 seed to win the Super Bowl in that
span.
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