Good, Bad and Ugly, Championship Sunday: Patriots Punch Their Ticket to the Super Bowl

What is old is new again. The Patriots are going back to the Super Bowl.

In a snow globe that was Empower Field at Mile High, New England went on the road and beat the Broncos, 10–7, giving the Patriots their 12th Super Bowl appearance, extending their own record.

New England primarily won on the back of its defense, which held Denver and backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham to 181 total yards and 11 first downs. The Patriots notched only 206 yards themselves but will advance to Super Bowl LX regardless, undoubtedly as an underdog in Santa Clara, Calif.

In the NFC championship game, the Rams will visit the Seahawks for the rubber match between the two NFC West rivals. In Week 16, Los Angeles and Seattle played a classic at Lumen Field, with the Seahawks winning, 38–37, in overtime despite the Rams totaling nearly 600 yards.

Whoever wins will advance to the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium, a place both have already won this season.

But we start with the AFC title game, where the snow became a key factor.

Good: Playoff games being held in the elements

If you enjoyed this game being played in the snow, soak it in. These moments are going to be few and far between in the future.

In the coming years, the Broncos, Chiefs, Commanders and Browns are all planning to move indoors, either with fixed or retractable roofs. The Bears might soon join them depending on whether they end up staying in Chicago, moving to Indiana or going to the suburbs in Arlington Heights.

In the second half in Denver, snow began to fall, changing from flurries to blizzard conditions to turn the field into a blanket of snow. CBS initially went to its yard-line overlay on the field, and then made the correct call to ditch it. For the last hour or so, viewers and the announcers themselves were left to guess what yard line the ball was on. It was beautiful.

The snow also added an element of strategy. In the fourth quarter, Broncos coach Sean Payton was clearly trying to score via field position, only to see Wil Lutz have his 45-yard field goal blocked. Meanwhile, New England played conservatively, rushing on 14 of its 16 fourth-quarter plays.

Luckily, Kansas City and Denver will play outdoors at least through 2030. The Bills’ new stadium has a roof covering the fans but not the field. The Patriots, Steelers, Packers, Ravens and others remain outdoors.

But soon, there will be fewer opportunities to see games like this.

Bad: Sean Payton had a tough hand to play, but made a huge error

The Broncos should have had 10 points in the first half. In fact, they should have been up 10–0.

In the second quarter, Denver had all the momentum. Stidham had electrified the crowd with a 52-yard bomb to Marvin Mims Jr. before finding Courtland Sutton for a touchdown on the Broncos’ second drive. The defense was playing lights out, holding New England to 12 yards on 12 plays with a single first down across three drives.

Then, facing fourth-and-1 from the Patriots’ 14-yard line, Payton decided to gamble. In a game certain to be a low-scoring affair, he eschewed an easy field goal (before the snow) and had Stidham throw for the first down. The result was immediate defensive pressure and an incompletion.

On the Broncos’ remaining eight drives, their longest march was 17 yards. The only serious scoring threat came after the Patriots shanked a punt in the fourth quarter, but Lutz couldn’t capitalize when his 45-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

In an era where teams are going on fourth down more than ever, Payton could typically be forgiven for the decision. But with his defense playing great, his team playing at home and his starting quarterback sidelined with a broken ankle, giving up an almost-sure three points was a horrific choice.

Ugly: NFL officiating is a disaster

All postseason, so much of the conversation has been about officiating. That’s once again the case coming out of the AFC championship game.

Last week in this same building, the Broncos benefitted from a controversial call when Josh Allen’s pass to Brandin Cooks was ruled an interception by Denver corner Ja’Quan McMillian, essentially taking a game-winning field goal attempt away from Buffalo in overtime. Of course, the Broncos ended up winning, 33–30.

This Sunday, the officials took a sure touchdown away from the Patriots in the second quarter when Stidham staggered around behind the line of scrimmage and clearly threw a backward pass in his own territory. New England recovered and ran into the end zone, but the ball was initially blown dead as an incompletion. Then, with help from replay review, the call was changed to a backward pass and a Patriots recovery, but without advancement.

The Patriots scored two plays later on a Drake Maye run to tie the game, 7–7, but the mistake could have easily cost New England at least four points in a defensive ballgame.

Then, in the third quarter, New England faced fourth-and-1 at the Denver 8-yard line with the score still tied. Maye attempted to sneak forward but appeared short of the line to gain. The side judges came in short. Then, the back judge went into the pile and signaled first down. The call was reviewed following Sean Payton’s challenge, but the call stood with inconclusive evidence. Four plays later, the Patriots kicked what ended up being the game-winning field goal.

On May 31, the deal between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association will expire. The NFLRA should push heavily for full-time status. If the NFL is smart, it will finally make the leap and require such status from officials.

With legal gambling more prevalent than ever before, high definition video, and the legion of camera angles we all see the game from, it’s time for the NFL to make sure every call is correct if possible.

Currently, the league is falling short in that effort.

Good: Playoff games being held in the elements

Bad: Sean Payton had a tough hand to play, but made a huge error

Ugly: NFL officiating is a disaster

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