Article by: Tom Nappi
-AFC Championship: New England Patriots defeat Denver Broncos 10-7
The #2 seeded New England Patriots held on to capture a win in Denver over the #1 seeded Denver Broncos 10 to 7. The Denver Broncos started their backup QB Jarrett Stidham after their starting Quarterback Bo Nix broke his leg on the 2nd to last play of the Denver Broncos 33 to 30 divisional round win over the Buffalo Bills. Sophomore QB Drake Maye took the field for the Patriots and started his first AFC Championship game of his career.
Last year the New England Patriots finished their regular season with a 4 Win and 13 Loss record and were at the bottom of the league, this year the Patriots took on the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game!
After starting with clear skies and temperatures in the 30’s, snow and heavy wind moved in during the 2nd quarter and totally changed the theme of the game. Visibility was difficult and that made executing a consistent passing offense nearly impossible. The defenses took over and after giving up a 1st quarter touchdown, the Patriots defense was able to completely shut down Denver and hang on for the 10-7 victory.
New England Patriots become the 1st team in NFL history to advance to the Superbowl in 5 straight decades (1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s, 2010’s, 2020’s) and Patriots Head Coach Mike Vrabel becomes the 1st Head Coach to make the Super Bowl with the same franchise as a Player and Head Coach!
A 64 yard field goal by Patriots Rookie kicker Andy Borregales in the 3rd quarter ended up being the determining score in the game. The Denver Broncos end their incredible season with a record of 15 and 4, the New England Patriots improve to 17 and 3 and advance to their first Superbowl since 2019 and since the departure of Tom Brady & Bill Belichick.
The Patriots are the first team in NFL history to beat three top-5 total defenses in the playoffs.
• Los Angeles Chargers (#5)
• Houston Texans (#1)
• Denver Broncos (#2)Tough day for the “schedule” narrative… pic.twitter.com/vfK2AjQ7aP
— Daniel Rotman (@daniel_rotman15) January 25, 2026
-NFC Championship: Seattle Seahawks defeat Los Angeles Rams 31-27
The NFC Championship was a matchup of NFC West division rivals, the 15 and 3 #1 seeded Seattle Seahawks took on the #5 seeded 14-5 L.A. Rams.
The game was a back & forth shootout through the first 3 quarters. On the first drive of the game Seattle RB Kenneth Walker scored a 2 yard touchdown and then both teams exchanged field goals to make it a 10-3 game heading to the 2nd quarter.
In the 2nd quarter, the Rams struck for a field goal and touchdown and took a 13-10 lead but with 34 seconds left in the 1st half, Seattle QB Sam Darnold connected with WR Jackson Smith-Njigba for a 14 yard touchdown and added a Josh Myers extra point to take a 17-13 lead into the halftime break.
In the 3rd quarter, both teams drove for 2 touchdowns each and it was a 31-27 Seahawks lead heading into the 4th quarter. The defenses for both teams took over in the 4th quarter and the Seattle Seahawks hung on for the 31-27 win and advanced to their first Super Bowl since 2015. In 2015 the Seahawks lost to a Bill Belichick & Tom Brady led Patriots team 28 to 24 in the Super Bowl. This year both teams have essentially entirely different coaching and rosters and it will be QB’s Sam Darnold vs Drake Maye and Head Coaches Mike Vrabel & Mike Macdonald squaring off for the Vince Lombardi Championship trophy!
Patriots Head Coach Mike Vrabel is in his 1st season at the helm of the New England Patriots and won 3 Super Bowls with the Patriots as a linebacker on the Patriots defense in 2001, 2003 and 2004. Seattle Head Coach, Mike Macdonald is in his 2nd season at the helm of the Seahawks and was the first coach in Seahawks franchise history to get 10 wins or more in their inaugural season finishing the 2024 season with a record of 10 wins and 7 losses. Macdonald also became the youngest head coach in the NFL at the time of his hiring.
FOR THE WIN: The Seahawks are heading to Santa Clara to face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX after their 31-27 win over the Rams. pic.twitter.com/7ICzNKW5KS
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 26, 2026
“They were calling me washed. Saying I didn’t have it anymore. I just wanted to prove to myself I am who I say I am.”
“This team took a chance on me. I just wanted to make them proud.”
1-on-1 with emotional #Patriots WR Stefon Diggs headed to 1st Super Bowl: pic.twitter.com/B2dD8Wq47h
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) January 26, 2026
🚨 BREAKING: Patriots, it’s TIME to FIGHT BACK! 🚨
Turning Point USA just DROPPED their epic **All-American Halftime Show** alternative — pure faith, family, freedom, and REAL American pride! 🇺🇸🔥
The woke NFL picked anti-American Bad Bunny, who’s now planning to prance around… pic.twitter.com/enGxLBMU6d
— Reverend Jordan Wells (@WellsJorda89710) January 26, 2026
Drake Maye reaches his first Super Bowl at 23 years old 👏
(via @mikekadlick) pic.twitter.com/PWM1HN5nwn
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 25, 2026
It’s well deserved. Now the favorite to win the Super Bowl. https://t.co/NnQYitqiv4
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 26, 2026
Inexperience: Drake Maye didn’t know what to do with the AFC trophy. pic.twitter.com/jOwIUVib31
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 26, 2026
NEW ENGLAND LOVES TO PLAY IN THE SUPER BOWL @boston25#Patriots pic.twitter.com/kqwrI1PlyU
— Michael Raimondi (@mraimonditv) January 25, 2026
The Patriots become the first team in the Super Bowl era to reach the Super Bowl after hiring a new head coach and winning 4 games or fewer the prior season 👏 pic.twitter.com/hmB327OWYK
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) January 25, 2026
Let’s run it back 😈 pic.twitter.com/eJNYRnVr5P
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 26, 2026
Mike Vrabel shares the standard that he's building in New England.
He set the tone with his first message to the team:
"We're going to earn the right to be here every day. We're going to remove entitlement from our football team."
It means show up and prove it every day.
"If… https://t.co/klorBVDP0Z pic.twitter.com/YTztFfsXYY
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) January 25, 2026
In Robert Kraft’s 32 seasons owning the Patriots, the team has won a league-leading 11 conference championships, and he has done so with three different coach/QB combinations.
There are still four NFL teams that never have made it to a Super Bowl. pic.twitter.com/85ApW15R2m
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 25, 2026
