The Tom Brady era in New England is over.
But less than five years after the legendary quarterback announced he would be leaving Foxborough, the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl yet again. They have a long-term answer at quarterback too.
Drake Maye was far from his best, but came up with big plays when it mattered most – including a few key gains with his legs – to help the Patriots to a 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in snowy conditions.
The victory saw the Broncos become the first team in NFL history to go 9-0 on the road in a single season, while they are also the first team to reach the Super Bowl after 13-plus losses in the previous season.
Watch every game of the NFL Postseason, including the Super Bowl, LIVE with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Maye, one of the best deep passers in the NFL, was unable to really get that part of his game going even early in Monday’s AFC Championship match-up and once the conditions worsened he was no chance.
But the former third overall pick caused plenty of damage with his legs, rushing seven times for 68 yards and New England’s only score of the game.
With it, Maye passed Brady for the most playoff rushing yards by a quarterback in Patriots history.
Fittingly, it was Maye who sent the Patriots to the Super Bowl when head coach Mike Vrabel aggressively called a quarterback run on 3rd-and-6 inside the final two minutes.
It means Maye will reach the Super Bowl in just his second season in the NFL, becoming the second-youngest quarterback to start in the league’s biggest game of the year.
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. (AP Photo/Garrett W. Ellwood)Source: AP
Meanwhile, it was heartbreak for the Broncos who were dealt a blow in the immediate aftermath of last week’s dramatic win over the Bills when quarterback Bo Nix was ruled out.
Back-up Jarrett Stidham had a few highlights early, but was then shut down by the New England defence and threw a costly pick on Denver’s final drive as he went for it all.
Australian rookie Jeremy Crawshaw, on the other hand, was a standout in testing conditions for the Broncos with six punts for a 51-yard average while three of them landed inside the 20.
In what ended up being a low-scoring affair, Broncos coach Sean Payton may come to rue a decision earlier in the game in much better conditions when he turned down a chip shot field goal to instead go for it at 4th-and-1.
While normally an automatic go for it in today’s NFL, this was far from a sure thing especially considering the Broncos were playing with a back-up quarterback and didn’t necessarily need to go for the knockout punch with the way their defence was playing.
Still, Payton had called an excellent game to that point so it was hard to question him, but it ended up backfiring as the Patriots got to Stidham and forced a turnover on downs.
New England will now play the winner of the NFC West showdown between the Seahawks and Rams.
MORE SUPER BOWL NEWS
‘TERRIBLE’: Why Trump is skipping the Super Bowl as president slams HT entertainment
ULTIMATE GUIDE: Everything you need to know ahead of Super Bowl LX
Bills owner takes shot at his own WR | 00:44
Stidham, who was making his first start in two years, had a shaky opening drive after he was almost sacked on his first dropback as the Broncos tried but failed to establish the run with just one yard on two carries.
But like any good veteran quarterback who has been around the game long enough, Stidham did well to throw the ball away with the Patriots pass rush closing in.
It was an unsuccessful first drive but far from a disaster, and it ended up being all Stidham needed to shake off his nerves as he later went deep to Marvin Mims Jr.
That set up the Broncos in the red zone and while there were question marks over Stidham’s ability to elevate this Denver offence, there was little doubt head coach Sean Payton would at least give him a chance with his smart play-calling.
He did that on the first touchdown of the game as Stidham faked the play-action, rolling out to his right and finding Courtland Sutton wide-open in the back of the end zone.
It was Stidham’s first NFL touchdown pass in 749 days and while the Patriots defence was clearly trying to put Denver’s new quarterback off his game it wasn’t working.
Maye, on the other hand, is still a worthy MVP candidate but struggled to get much going for New England against a relentless Broncos defence that ranks among the best in the league.
With the Patriots struggling to move the ball, the defence desperately needed to get a stop when the Broncos worked their way into the red zone again and went for it on 4th-and-1.
Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)Source: AP
That didn’t work out and the New England pass rush then got to Stidham again later in the second quarter, forcing him into a backwards pass which was recovered by the Patriots and taken in for a touchdown.
The referees prematurely blew their whistle, but fortunately for them it wouldn’t become a major talking point as Maye rushed for the tying touchdown a few plays later.
That left the halftime score at 7-7 after both teams missed field goals on their final drives of the second quarter.
It was in some ways a miracle that New England had tied the game, with Maye completing just seven of 14 passes for 41 yards while the Patriots as a whole had 72 yards to Denver’s 149.
If the Patriots had one advantage, however, it was Maye’s legs and a 28-yard pick-up on a scramble from the New England quarterback helped set up Andy Borregales for the go-ahead field goal.
It was a key score for the Patriots as conditions quickly changed after that successful attempt, with the swirling wind and snow making it hard for either team to complete a pass or kick a field goal.
LIVE BLOG
Follow the latest updates below! Can’t see the blog? Click here!