Patriots edge Broncos to win AFC title, earn Super Bowl LX trip - ESPN

DENVER — Drake Maye ran for 68 yards and threw for 86 in sloppy, snowy conditions and scored New England's only touchdown on a 6-yard keeper, propelling the Patriots to their 12th Super Bowl with a 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Christian Gonzalez intercepted Jarrett Stidham, starting in place of an injured Bo Nix, at New England's 36 with 2:11 remaining and the Patriots (17-3) iced their first playoff win in Denver when Maye ran for 7 yards on third-and-5 from his 41.

The Patriots will play the winner of the NFC Championship Game between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.

In Mike Vrabel's first season as coach, New England became the third team in the Super Bowl era to win a conference championship with 10 points or less. Buffalo beat Denver 10-7 in the 1991 AFC title game, and the Rams beat Tampa Bay 9-0 in the 1979 NFC championship game.

Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls as a playmaking linebacker for the Patriots, could become the first person in NFL history to also win as a head coach for the same franchise.

«I won't win it. It'll be the players that'll win the game,» Vrabel said. «I promise you, it won't be me that'll win it, and I promise you that I'll do everything I can, and our staff, to have them ready for the game.»

The Patriots, who had just four wins during the 2024 season, are just the sixth team to have reached a Super Bowl after winning five or fewer games the previous season.

The Broncos (15-4) finished one step shy of fulfilling Sean Payton's preseason prediction of a trip to Super Bowl LX.

Both kickers missed two field goals in the frigid conditions with Denver's Wil Lutz and New England's Andy Borregales wide on long tries