Le Journal

Zach Bryan misses his first No. 1 on one U.K. chart as With Heaven On Top launches at No. 2, but the set brings him to new career peaks on other tallies.

Jarrett Stidham has not thrown a pass in an NFL game since Jan. 7, 2024. So when Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams was asked what he knew about the Broncos quarterback, he gave an honest answer. “Nothing. I ain’t gonna lie, nothing,” Williams said. “We’re going to watch the tape on him and figure out what he like to do. But no. They didn’t like him over Bo [Nix], so.” Over his seven years in the NFL, Stidham has started just four games. Backing up Bo Nix this season, he played just four snaps (one kneel down) in a 44-24 blowout victory over the Cowboys in Week 8. But with Nix suffering a fracture in his ankle in last weekend’s divisional round victory, Stidham will now be thrust into action against New England in the AFC Championship Game. “He’s got the snaps that he has — the 400 or so snaps that are in regular season action. And then they have a lot of snaps on what they want to do. So, we’ll have to be prepared for the plan and the things that they’ve shown,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “I’m sure there’ll be some things that they haven’t shown. He’s more than capable to go out there and operate. It’s why he’s a backup, and one that was coveted around the league.” With minimal film available, Vrabel added the staff is using every resource available to them in its preparation. That includes intel from offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who originally coached Stidham in New England before trading for him in Las Vegas. “Anything that we have that we can use to help us, we’ll try,” Vrabel explained. As the Patriots continue their preparation for Stidham and the Broncos offense, they will not take him lightly — especially with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. “Man, it’s the playoffs,” Williams said. “To be an NFL quarterback, them boys, they are going to rally around him just like they did around Bo. We still have to be ready for the challenge.” “I think he can make any throw he wants obviously with a great pocket. He’s got great mechanics and great release time,” fellow pass rusher K’Lavon Chaisson said. “He’s got good protection. You’ve got some All-Pro guys on that line of scrimmage. I think he can continue to be the driving force of the offense. We won’t take that for granted at all.”

Advancing to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 2018, the New England Patriots will face off against a fairly familiar playoff opponent — at least from a historical perspective. The Denver Broncos, after all, have stood in the team’s way on five previous occasions. In those five postseason meetings between the Patriots and Broncos, a clear pattern can be observed: the home team has come away victoriously each time. Given that four of the five games were played in Denver, that is a definitive issue for New England: Mile High has been a house of horrors for the organization. The Patriots were beaten 22-17 in 1986, 27-13 in 2005, 26-16 in 2013 and 20-18 in 2015. In between, they celebrated a 45-10 win at Gillette Stadium in 2011. Let’s take a look back at those games. Patriots vs. Broncos NFL playoff history 1986 AFC divisional round: The Patriots entered the 1986 playoffs as the reigning AFC champions, but they ran into trouble in their first ever playoff trip to Denver. While the final score was relatively close and the game tightly contested, throughout, Tony Eason and the offense failed to string consistent plays together. As a result, Denver controlled time of possession and had almost double the first downs (23 to 12). Not even two takeaways on defense were enough to help overcome John Elway and company on the road. The last hope at victory died when Eason was sacked for a safety to finalize the score at 22-17. | Highlights 2005 AFC divisional round: In his fifth season as starting quarterback, Tom Brady had still never lost a playoff game. However, his perfect 10-0 record found its end at Mile High in January 2005. A defensive battle throughout the day, the Patriots were down 10-6 in the late when they found themselves deep in Denver territory. However, on 3rd-and-goal, Brady threw an interception to cornerback Champ Bailey that ended up getting returned 100 yards all the way to the New England 1-yard line; one play later, the Broncos were in the end zone to add to their lead. The play — which was notable for Ben Watson chasing down Bailey from across the field and forcing the ball out on what very well could have been ruled a touchback — was not the only problem for the visitors that day: they turned the ball over five times and missed a field goal. | Highlights 2011 AFC divisional round: “Tebowmania” had, for better or worse, swept the nation in 2011, but the Patriots put an end to it in the 2011 divisional playoffs: they thoroughly dismantled at outmatched opponent, and along the way held Tim Tebow to a 35% completion rate and with no touchdowns and a lost fumble. Offensively, meanwhile, Tom Brady went 26-of-34 for 363 yards with six touchdowns and an interception (plus a 48-yard punt), while Rob Gronkowski finished with 145 yards and three scores on 10 receptions. Two months after their 45-10 defeat, the Broncos traded Tebow to the Jets. | Highlights 2013 AFC Championship Game: New England got the better of the highest scoring offense in NFL history in the regular season, but the Broncos had their revenge with the Super Bowl on the line. While the home team steadily kept chipping away and producing long drives, the Patriots’ own offense was stuck in the mud throughout the day. By the early fourth quarter, they were trailing 23-3 and despite some late touchdowns from Julian Edelman and Tom Brady could not work their way back into the contest. | Highlights 2015 AFC Championship Game: Despite Tom Brady being under relentless pressure against one of the best defenses of the Super Bowl era, the Patriots had a chance to tie the game late. With him and Rob Gronkowski leading the way, they converted two fourth downs to score a touchdown and cut their deficit to 20-18. However, the ensuing two-point try was doomed from the start and ended as an interception to effectively end the game. At that point, multiple miscues loomed large: the Patriots had unsuccessfully gone for it on fourth down while in scoring range…

When the New England Patriots selected Will Campbell fourth overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, they did so with one goal in mind: have him lock up Drake Maye’s blindside for years to come. Early on in his career, he has shown plenty of promise. Recently, however, Campbell has had his issues. Going up against some of the NFL’s most potent pass rushers in back-to-back weeks in the playoffs he was credited with three sacks and nine total quarterback pressures given up. Two of those sacks resulted in Maye fumbling the ball. With the Patriots now on to the AFC Championship Game to take on a Denver Broncos team leading the league in sacks, the spotlight naturally is on Campbell again. So, how do you feel about him? That is what we want to know in this week’s SB Nation Reacts survey. Make sure to participate in our poll, and to head down to the comment section to share and discuss your answers. As always, the results will be posted later this week. Please sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. Please take our survey