Patriots opponent preview: Get to know the Denver Broncos

The final two teams in the AFC are set, and it's the two teams that sat at the top of the conference standings for most of the season. In the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, the No. 1 seed Denver Broncos will host the No. 2 seed New England Patriots with a trip to Super Bowl LX on the line.

There are a number of similarities in the way the Broncos and Patriots are built. They're both emerging from rebuilds run by second-stop head coaches with second-year quarterbacks. Even the structures of the season are similar - both started 1-2 before winning 13 of their final 14 regular season games to finish 14-3. In the end, a common opponents tiebreaker ended up being the difference between the top two seeds, and is the reason this game is being played in Denver and not Foxboro.

Stylistically though there are differences. The story of the year for Denver has been the defense, with a balanced offense alongside. They also played more close games than anyone in the league. In 13 one-score games, they were 11-2.

How did they get here? Let's get familiar with the Denver Broncos...

Both in terms of pass blocking and run blocking, the Broncos' offensive line was one of the best in the NFL this year. During the regular season they allowed just a 27.7% pressure rate which was the third-lowest in the league, and tied for allowing a league-low 23 sacks. Against the Bills in the Divisional Round they allowed just a 20% pressure rate and no sacks.

On the ground, Broncos running backs had an average of 1.66 yards before contact per rush. That was tied for the fourth-most in the NFL.

The group is highlighted by the tackles. Left tackle Garett Bolles and right tackle Mike McGlinchey are both among the best in the league at their respective positions. They each ranked top 15 among all tackles in ESPN's pass block win rate, and both received All-Pro votes (Bolles himself was a first-team All-Pro). Right guard Quinn Meinerz was also an All-Pro.

Beyond Meinerz injuries have created some changes on the interior at times, but the group has still held up strong. Center Luke Wattenberg suffered a shoulder injury in Week 15, and has been replaced by Alex Forsyth the last few games. However, he is eligible to return from IR this week. Left guard Ben Powers missed significant time with a biceps starting in early October, but returned in Week 16 in a rotational role then resumed his starting job in the regular season finale.

Having a relative unknown at quarterback isn't ideal at any time, but especially in the Conference Championship. That will be the case for the Broncos. Bo Nix had a solid season for Denver but after suffering a fractured ankle in the Divisional Round, former Patriots draft pick Jarrett Stidham will get the start.

This will be just the fifth start of Stidham's career, and his first since late in the 2023 season. He's 1-3 in his previous four, two with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 and then two more with Sean Payton's Broncos the next year. In those games he's thrown for 270 yards per game with six touchdowns and four interceptions.

Stidham has spent the last three years of his seven year career with Payton and the Broncos, so it's not like he'll have to adjust to a new system or anything like that. The question is how much the offense will adjust for him compared to Nix? Mobility is the biggest difference between the two, and Nix's legs have been a key factor for Denver's offense at times this year.

Just like on offense, the Broncos' biggest strength defensively is along the line of scrimmage. Both in the pass and run game, they've been dominant up front.

No team got after the quarterback like the Broncos this year. Their 68 sacks not only led the league, but are the fifth-most by a team in a season since the merger. That netted out to a sack on almost one of every 10 opponent drop backs (9.7%). In total they had a pressure rate of 40.7% for the season.

That pass rush came with a pretty spread out effort. First-Team All-Pro linebacker Nik Bonitto led the team with 14 sacks, but linebacker Jonathon Cooper (8.0), and defensive linemen John Franklin-Myers (7.5) and Zach Allen (7.0) were key contributors as well.

The thing is, that group is not one-dimensional. They win the initial push up front against the run as much as against the pass. Running backs against the Broncos averaged just 0.87 yards before contact per rush, the second-lowest in the NFL.

When rushers did break through they were taken care of quickly. Denver allowed only 30 rushes of 10+ yards this year, also the second-lowest in the NFL. It helps that the team has a group of rangy second- and third-level players who can step up and tackle well including linebackers Alex Singleton and Dre Greenlaw, as well as safety Talanoa Hufanga.

The Broncos' aggressiveness can help them, but it certainly hurts at times as well. Denver has been called for a league-high 53 defensive penalties, and 597 defensive penalty yards.

In particular, the Broncos have been flagged for defensive pass interference (20) and defensive offsides (10) more than any team in the NFL. Cornerback Riley Moss led all players in defensive PI calls with eight during the regular season, while fellow cornerback Patrick Surtain Jr. was tied for third with five. Bonitto was tied for the third-most offsides with four.

Additionally, the Broncos were tied for the second-most roughing the passer (5) and illegal contact (4) penalties.

Last week, the Broncos did do a better job of cleaning things up. They were called for only one defensive penalty, but it was a costly one. Cooper was called for a neutral zone infraction in the final minute of regulation, which gave the Bills a conversion without having to snap the ball on 3rd & 1 on their game-tying field goal drive.

QB Jarrett Stidham: As mentioned above, Stidham will be in the spotlight this week as he takes over for Nix at quarterback. The Broncos have been a defensive-driven team all year so it won't be on Stidham to create plays for 60 minutes, as much as it will be about him protecting the football and keeping the team out of bad situations.

WR Courtland Sutton: When Stidham does throw the ball, Sutton should be his top target. A big, outside receiver Sutton caught 74 passes for 1,017 yards and seven touchdowns this year. On an offense that has a lot of smaller, quicker receivers, everything flows through him.

CB Patrick Surtain Jr.: An All-Pro for the second year in a row and third time in four seasons, Surtain is among the elite coverage cornerbacks in the NFL. He has the ability to take opponents top receivers out of games, and is the kind of player teams don't test regularly. His 9.1 coverage snaps per target this year was the eighth-most in the NFL among qualifying cornerbacks.

LB Nik Bonitto: Bonitto is the key player in the Broncos' strong pass rush. At 6-foot-3, 240 pounds he's a speed rusher that consistently gets in the backfield. He almost exclusively rushes off of the opponent's left tackle.

After having a first-round bye, the Broncos punched their ticket to the AFC Championship Game by beating the Bills in the Divisional Round. It was a back and forth game that included three overtime possessions before the Broncos won on a field goal.

Denver's defense gave reigning MVP Josh Allen issues in that game. Allen was 25-of-39 for 283 yards and three touchdowns, but he turned the ball over four times with two interceptions and two fumbles lost.

Running back James Cook lost a fumble as well, but did run the ball well with 117 yards on 24 carries. That made him only the second back to go for over 100 yards against the Broncos this year, after Jonathan Taylor ran for 165 yards in Week 2. Denver hasn't allowed more than 73 rushing yards to a player in any other game this season.

Offensively the Broncos were able to move the ball but struggled near the goal line. They went 8-of-16 on third downs, but scored just one touchdown on four red zone trips.

This will be the first meeting between the Patriots and Broncos this year. In fact, they haven't played since the 2023 season, when the Patriots visited Denver on Christmas Eve.

Both teams were struggling offensively that season, but a surprise QB duel between Bailey Zappe and Russell Wilson took center stage. In the end, Zappe led the Patriots down the field for a game-winning field goal in the final minute of a 26-23 Patriots win. That ended up being the final game Bill Belichick won as the head coach of the Patriots.

Overall, the Patriots and Broncos do have a significant history against each other in the playoffs, including two prior meetings in the AFC Championship Game. Four of those five matchups have taken place in Denver in the 1986, 2005, 2013, and 2015 seasons. The Broncos won all four, including both AFC Championship Games.

The lone game at Gillette Stadium was a 45-10 Patriots win over a Tim Tebow-led Broncos team in the 2011 season. That remains the Patriots' only win over the Broncos in the playoffs to date.