Inside The Star
The New England Patriots step into the AFC Championship game in a very rare position: they are on the road in one of the league’s toughest environments, facing the one seed, and they are the favorites to win.
Mike Vrabel’s boys are coming off two solid playoff wins, but both came at home, and they were far from underdogs in each matchup.
Rather than some major momentum or postseason dominance slotting them ahead of the Denver Broncos today, it is a fluke, last-minute injury to former first-round pick, Bo Nix, that has vaulted New England out of the expected underdog status.
Denver, in Mile High and fresh off an overtime win against Josh Allen’s Bills, is being counted out by many, with backup Jarrett Stidham taking the reins.
Let me warn Patriots fans, however: this game is not over before it starts.
These Broncos, led by one of the NFL’s most experienced head coaches, have an elite defense and enough talent on offense to mask the expected quarterback drop-off. New England still needs to grind out a win, and the three keys here will be critical in achieving that.
All week long, we’ve heard the Patriots’ side of the media dunk on Stidham, while the Broncos side has hyped him up; ultimately, whichever side is right in their analysis of the long-time backup will likely win this game.
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New England’s number one priority must be to make him uncomfortable in the pocket. In years past, his top weakness has been getting sacked.
Nix, in comparison, does a great job at avoiding both sacks and turnovers; Vrabel’s defense has to jump on this difference. Create nonstop pressure, fly to the ball, and make as many impact plays as you can.
If we leave this game with New England having sacked Stidham 4+ times to the tune of 2+ turnovers, they’ll win. If they let him get comfy in the pocket and deliver passes, which he absolutely can do well, watch out for Denver to advance to the Super Bowl.
The second-highest priority for the Pats, aside from getting to Stidham, has to be limiting the damage from the Denver defense.
Make no mistake about it, folks, this unit is absolutely elite. They’ve given up the second-fewest total yards, seventh-fewest passing yards, and second-fewest rushing yards in the NFL.
Not to mention, they lead the league in sacks by 11. They had 68.0 total in the regular season, and in second place, the Jaguars had 57.0.
Drake Maye is very mobile, and he’ll need to be today to avoid a sack barrage, but an even bigger key is protecting the football. New England can not turn the ball over, thus giving a weakened Broncos offense good field position.
The good news for the Patriots is that Denver’s defense, for all its elite traits, has actually...
