Initial thoughts from the Broncos’ 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship at Empower Field.
Jarrett Stidham of the Denver Broncos throws as Jahlani Tavai of the New England Patriots pressures during the first quarter at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026.
Hindsight makes geniuses of us all, but man, you’d hope Sean Payton would like that fourth-and-inches at the New England 14 back. With Nix behind center, up 7-0, you’d have No. 10 fall forward, deep the clock running, and give yourself four more downs to play with. Instead, Stidham rolled right and threw a short pass past RJ Harvey for an incompletion. It’s so, so frustrating to imagine what Denver might’ve been able to do with a 10-0 lead in the snow instead of 7-0, for one. For another, the Broncos had run the ball decently up to that point, having rushed it five straight times for 21 yards prior to the fourth-down stop. And then Payton got cute and somehow found a way to stop himself.Mother Nature called the tune on the second half, and she had the Broncos singing the blues late. Wil Lutz missed an uncharacteristic two field goals, the first time he’s had more than a single miss in a Broncos game since that gut-wrenching 16-14 loss at Kansas City in November 2024. In all, there were four missed kicks for the ball game, two from each side. That’s the most in an AFC title game since a matchup Broncos fans would rather forget —As we found out the hard way on more than one occasion in the first half, there are things Bo Nix can do that Jarrett Stidham just … can’t. Especially when pressured, or when the pocket goes to holy heck in a handbasket. But Stiddy also reminded us why so many in Broncos Country fell in love with him in the preseason — that smooth deep ball. That critical 52-yard rainbow to Marvin Mims in the first quarter went 41 air yards. Turns out that was the most “in-air” yards of any throw by a Broncos QB in 2025-26, regular season or postseason. If there’s one throw that Stiddy can make more comfortably and consistently than Nix, it’s a deep ball. Or medium-deep ball.Patriots 10, Broncos 7: New England misses field-goal attempt Kicks veering to Lord-knows-where? Funny bounces? Slippery footing? Snowballs? Enjoy those moments at the AFC Championship while we’ve got ’em. Playoff snow games, such as we got Sunday, could soon be a relic of the past — and not just in Denver. The Broncos, who are planning to move to a stadium with a retractable roof in 2031, told FrontOfficeSports.com earlier this month that while the team makes the call on open vs. closed during the regular season, and the wild-card and divisional rounds, the NFL commissioner makes that decision for conference title games and at the Super Bowl. Guess which way the league is more likely to lean? ICE investigates after Colorado group says agents left 'death cards' in arrested immigrants' abandoned carsColorado weather: Arctic cold, chance of snow at Denver Broncos playoff game Denver marijuana dispensary's licenses revoked after links to interstate drug case, code violations uncoveredAaron Gordon reinjures hamstring in Nuggets' wild win over BucksColorado weather: Snow falls during Denver Broncos playoff game
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