FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) 鈥� Drake Maye has a chance to accomplish something not even Tom Brady did with the Patriots.
Maye is hoping to beat the Broncos in the in Denver on Sunday and lead New England to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018. The Patriots have never won a playoff game in Denver 鈥� losing all four tries, with Brady going 0-3.
鈥淛ust the AFC championship, the chance to go to the Super Bowl. That鈥檇 be huge,鈥� Maye said. 鈥淎nother road environment that鈥檚 had success in the past. 鈥� I know it would be a big-time win.鈥�
The Patriots advanced to their 14th AFC championship game in the last 25 years on Sunday when they in Foxborough. to reach the conference title game.
New England and Denver both finished 14-3 in the regular season, but the Broncos won the tiebreaker for home-field advantage because they had a better record against common opponents: Denver beat the Raiders twice this season but the .
That loss 鈥� to the worst team in the NFL in the first game of the Mike Vrabel era 鈥� sent New England into one of the most inhospitable environments in the league. In addition to the high-energy crowd, the Patriots will also have to contend with a low-oxygen environment that they won鈥檛 have a chance to acclimate to.
鈥淜ind of what we鈥檝e been doing on the road all season long,鈥� said Maye, who has guided the Patriots to an 8-0 road record this season. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e got a great team, so we鈥檙e going to have a tough challenge. But I鈥檓 looking forward to getting out there. And getting a chance to possibly celebrate on an away field would be pretty special.鈥�
The last team to go undefeated on the road with a new head coach was the San Francisco 49ers under George Seifert in 1989; they won the Super Bowl.
鈥淐oach (Vrabel) has always been saying, 鈥楻oad warriors,鈥�” Maye said. “So, we鈥檙e trying to find that one more time and finish out strong what we鈥檝e done this year.鈥�
are 18-5 in home playoff games all-time. But they’ll will be , who near the end of the divisional round victory over Buffalo. Instead, , who hasn鈥檛 thrown a pass since 2023.
That’s why New England opened as a 5陆-point favorite 鈥� the biggest road favorite ever in a conference championship game. The line has since moved to Denver plus-4陆.
鈥淲e always feel as though no matter what anyone else has to say, we still have something to prove,” said cornerback Marcus Jones, who returned an interception for a touchdown against Houston. “We鈥檙e trying to always prove ourselves right and not trying to prove other people wrong. That鈥檚 kind of the philosophy we鈥檝e had for a long time.鈥�
Win or lose, the Patriots could have trouble getting back to New England: is expected to dump a foot or more of snow on the area.
Vrabel said the team is prepared if it can’t leave Denver on Sunday night.
鈥淲e have multiple plans of what could go on based on the weather. (It’s) something that they鈥檙e familiar with here,” he said. 鈥淚 mean, there鈥檚 things I can control, (but) that I can鈥檛 control.鈥�
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