Breaking down Broncos-Pats, Seahawks-Rams via Next Gen Stats - ESPN

Many think conference championship Sunday is the best day of NFL football, because it features two potentially great games and more focus on football than on Super Bowl spectacle.

And one of the most intriguing storylines Sunday is Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who is starting in place of the injured Bo Nix. This will be Stidham's first start since 2023 and the fifth since he was drafted in 2019.

But Stidham's résumé does have some positives. He had an expected points added (EPA) per dropback of +0.04 and a success rate of 46.1% in his past four years (149 total pass attempts), according to Next Gen Stats. Both are above the league averages (-0.03 EPA/DB, 44.2% success rate) in that span. In fact, Stidham's success rate from his past four years combined (46.1%) was higher than Nix's this season (44.5%).

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford had a success rate of just 30.4% in the divisional round overtime win over the Chicago Bears. That was the ninth-lowest among the 238 playoff starting quarterbacks in the past 10 years. Stafford was the only QB in the bottom 15 who didn't lose.

Here is a deeper look at the two conference championship games through the lens of Next Gen Stats.

Can the Broncos exploit Patriots left tackle Will Campbell?

In two playoff games against the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans, Campbell allowed 10 pressures, including four sacks, in 73 pass-blocking reps (13.7%). That's the most pressures and sacks for the Patriots.

But expect offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to help him. The Patriots provided chip block help to both Campbell and right tackle Morgan Moses. Campbell received chip help on 13.3% of his pass sets, the eighth-highest mark among left tackles, and