It all comes down to this for the Denver Broncos.
They play the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium for a spot in Super Bowl 60. Denver will have to win without their star quarterback Bo Nix, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury against Buffalo in the AFC Divisional Round.
The last time these two teams met for the AFC crown was in 2016, where Peyton Manning and the Broncos defeated a Tom Brady-led Patriots squad, 20-18. That game was also played in Denver. The Broncos would go on to Super Bowl 50 and clinch their third championship by knocking off the Carolina Panthers.
Sean Keeler covers the Broncos for the Denver Post. He said Denver certainly has the tools to win against New England without Nix and with Jared Stidham taking over at quarterback.
"It's a narrow path for them to win, but it's there," said Keeler. " I think Broncos Country and homefield is going to have a lot to do with that in making the Patriots' offense uncomfortable to sort of level the playing field a little bit. I also think we can all be grateful that the game is not in New England on Sunday."
A year after Denver snapped a nine-year postseason-less drought, the Broncos rode an 11-game win streak during the regular season this year en route to the AFC West Division crown and the conference's top seed. Denver avenged last year's Wild Card loss to Buffalo by beating the Bills in a thrilling overtime affair last weekend. The mood, however, was dampened with the announcement that Nix had suffered a season-ending ankle injury late in the contest.
Keeler says the Broncos' defense will once again have to step up if they want to advance.
"That's the dog that's kind of pulled the sled, and it's the dog that's going to have to do a lot more work if they're going to win this one and get to the big game in Santa Clara," he said.
It will be brutally cold in the Mile High City. Game time temperatures are expected to be in the 20's with wind chills in the single digits and the potential for light snow flurries.
Legendary Broncos' quarterback and Hall-of-Famer John Elway will serve as the honorary captain for the AFC Championship game, which kicks off at 1 p.m. MT on CBS.
