The New England Patriots booked their place at Super Bowl LX as they edged out the Denver Broncos 10-7 in near blizzard conditions in the AFC Championship game.
The Patriots tallied only 72 yards on offense, and three first downs, in the first half but managed to go into the break level at 7-7 after a costly Jarrett Stidham fumble for Denver.
The Broncos' back-up quarterback, making his first NFL start in two years due to Bo Nix's season-ending injury suffered in the divisional round, started the game well and earned Denver a 7-0 lead after following up a 52-yard strike to Marvin Mims with a touchdown toss to Courtland Sutton in the first quarter.
But, with the Broncos' defense completely shutting down New England's offense, Denver were left to rue a Stidham fumble from their own 33-yard line that gifted the Patriots their game-tying score.
Elijah Ponder seemingly returned the fumble for a touchdown, only for the referees to have ruled the play dead too soon. The error did not prove too costly, however, as Patriots QB Drake Maye ran in a six-yard TD off the turnover two plays later.
Denver could, and perhaps should, have still had a lead at the half, but their decision to go for it on fourth and one from the New England 14-yard line earlier in the second quarter - instead of kick a field goal - was a mistake, as the Patriots' defense held firm and forced a turnover on downs.
Both teams missed field goal tries shortly before half-time, Will Lutz missing from 54 yards for the Broncos before Andy Borregales failed with an even more opportunistic effort for the Pats from 63 yards as time expired.
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During the interval, conditions quickly worsened in Denver as high winds and heavy snow rolled in to make scoring even tougher in the second half, but the Patriots crucially came away with the game-clinching three points off the opening drive.
New England almost eclipsed their total first-half yardage on their opening possession after the break, driving 64 yards to set up a 23-yard field goal - shortly after Maye converted a key fourth and one play as the Pats opted to go for it.
That proved to be the difference, with New England's defense completely locking down Denver's offense in the second half, restricting them to just one first down and 32 yards as they booked their place at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara in two weeks' time.
Both teams had further field-goal tries that were missed, Denver's 46-yarder with four minutes and 46 seconds left in the game being blocked, while Stidham threw an interception to all-but end the contest with just over two minutes remaining.
The victory extends New England's record number of Super Bowl appearances to 12 as they look to win a seventh and first without legendary quarterback and coach combo Tom Brady and Bill Belichick at the helm.
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