The New England Patriots haven’t lost on the road all season.
They have MVP candidate Drake Maye leading the way into Denver for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.
The Broncos, meanwhile, will turn to backup Jarrett Stidham, who hasn’t thrown a pass in an NFL game in over two years.
The Patriots are road favorites and everything seems to be lining up for their return to the big game, but Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio is taking Denver to be the AFC’s Super Bowl representative.
“For the Patriots, it’s the toughest game of the year. For playoff games in Denver, history isn’t on their side. In four prior tries, the Patriots have never beaten the Broncos on the road. Can quarterback Drake Maye minimize mistakes?” Florio wrote. “For the Broncos, can Jarrett Stidham step up? The Broncos believe in him. He needs to believe in himself. He needs to run the offense, staying within himself and letting the others do their jobs.”
The longtime sportswriter is predicting a 27-23 Broncos victory.
“The extra benefit for the Broncos is that they can legitimately play the ‘nobody believes in us’ card. Most will pick the Patriots. (Not me.),” Florio said.
If Stidham were to lead Denver to an upset, it wouldn’t be completely unprecedented.
The former Patriots fourth-round pick is looking to join the likes of Tom Brady, Kurt Warner, Colin Kaepernick, Nick Foles and a handful of other signal-callers to lead their team to the Super Bowl following injuries to the starter.
The Broncos and Patriots are scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.
