At halftime of the AFC title game, the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots are tied 7-7.

Denver, starting backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, took an early lead in the game and had multiple chances to extend it but instead enters the half in a stalemate. The Broncos were stuffed on a fourth-and-1 early in the second quarter and missed a field goal just before halftime.

Stidham went 12 of 21 for 121 yards and a touchdown in the first half, but he also lost a fumble that set up New England’s only score. He hit a 52-yard pass to Marvin Mims Jr. early in the first quarter after starting the game 0-for-3 passing, then found Courtland Sutton for a touchdown on a bootleg two plays later.

After the two teams traded punts, the Broncos drove deep into New England territory with a chance to make it a two-score game, but they were instead turned away on the aforementioned fourth-and-1 opportunity on New England’s 14-yard line. 

The Patriots failed to take advantage of the turnover on downs and punted the ball right back to the Broncos, but Stidham tried to scramble away from pressure on a third-and-long opportunity and then throw the ball away, only to throw it backward and have the fumble scooped up by the Pats. The Broncos lucked out in that the play was initially ruled intentional grounding and blown dead, so the Pats took over at the Broncos’ 12-yard line. On the second play after the turnover, Drake Maye ran the ball up the middle on a quarterback draw to tie the game at 7. 

Each team had a chance to take the lead late in the half, but Wil Lutz missed a field goal from 54 yards out and Andres Borregales missed from 63 yards away, so the teams entered halftime tied. 

Which of these two teams will advance to the Super Bowl and earn a chance to compete for the Lombardi Trophy? We’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, keep it locked to our live blog throughout the afternoon and evening as we update you with stats, scores and highlights.

For the full conference championship slate, including dates, kickoff times and TV channels, see our complete NFL playoff schedule.

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