Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Alert: Drake Maye’s New England Patriots Look To Shatter Broncos’ Dreams

Episode Date: January 23, 2026

New England Patriots stand just 60 minutes from the Super Bowl, but can they capitalize on the advantage of facing backup QB Jarrett Stidham and outmaneuver Sean Payton’s formidable Denver Broncos? Nick Cattles breaks down why Denver’s fearsome defensive front—anchored by Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen, and Patrick Surtain—poses a real threat despite Bo Nix’s injury, and explores how Drake Maye and Will Campbell can exploit the Broncos’ aggressive blitz schemes.Key segments spotlight the chess match between rookie defensive play-caller Zak Kuhr and Sean Payton’s offensive creativity, as well as Patriots strategies for handling Denver’s explosive pass rush, special teams prowess, and unpredictable offensive formations. Predictions, matchup breakdowns, and pressing questions—like whether Mike Vrabel’s squad is ready for trick plays and how the Patriots offense can turn Denver’s aggression into opportunity—set the stage for an AFC Championship clash you won’t want to miss.Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOPatriots?sid=YouTubeLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL#patriots #newenglandpatriotsEverydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclubSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!TurboTaxFor a limited time, you can have your taxes done by a local TurboTax expert for just $150 — all in, if a TurboTax expert didn’t file for you last year. Just file by February 28.  Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today.DripDropRight now, DripDrop is offering podcast listeners 20% off your first order. Go to http://dripdrop.com and use promo code lockedonnfl.Ultimate QBUltimate QB is totally free to play, has no ads, and works 100% offline — perfect for when you want to sneak in a quick game or two on the go. Just head over to http://ULTIMATE-QB.COM.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. FanDuel is officially in Playoff Mode. Every game day during the NFL playoffs, FanDuel is giving customers even more ways to get in on the action. Visit Fanduel.com to get started.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.RobinhoodTrade Every Play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robinhood app now to begin.Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC., a registered futures commission merchant and swap firmIndeedListeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/lockedonnfl.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

60 minutes of good and responsible football away from the Super Bowl. It's the Broncos, Pats, and the AFC championship game, and it's a deep dive preview. This is Lockdown Patriots. You are Locked on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked on Podcasts Network, your team every day. What's happening? I am your host, Nick Cattos, born and raised in New England, been covering the paths for the past 16 years, also the co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattels and a sports radio veteran. Welcome to Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network,

now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. I want to remind all of you following the AFC championship game between the Broncos and the Patriots, we will be going live, live post game on YouTube. You do not want to miss it. But on today's show, in the third segment, Sunday is a compelling showdown. between a rookie defensive play caller in one of the most respected offensive minds. In the second segment, Drake May will face another top defense, but we'll have opportunities to move the football.

But first, even with QB2, the paths should not take Sunday's challenge lightly. Today's episode is brought to by Fandul. Fandul is officially in playoff mode. Every game day during the NFL playoffs, Vandul is giving customers even more ways to get in on the action. Visit fandul.com to get started. Jared Stidham playing this game on Sunday is 100% a break for the Patriots. Don't get it twisted.

Absolutely is a break for the paths. You want to face the backup quarterback with a chance to go to the Super Bowl. That's the easier path. That's how this works. He's a backup quarterback. Bo Nix is better than Jared Stidham. That's why Bo Nix starts and Jared Stidham doesn't. As a matter of fact, Jared Stidham has not thrown a pass that has mattered in an NFL game for over two years.

Opta stats posted this. Jared Stidham is the first NFL quarterback to start in the conference championship round or later after not throwing a single pass during the regular season. Now, that is since quarterback starts were tracked beginning in 1950. But this is the first time we've ever seen this. So yes, that is advantage Patriots. it would be disingenuous for me to sit here and tell you that Jared Stidham is more dangerous or scarier than Bo Nix. It's just not true. And some might sit there and try to sell you on this idea that Jared Stidham could be starting for teams across the NFL or at least a couple of teams somewhere in the NFL.

If that's true, then why is he not starting? He's not starting because he's a backup quarterback. He's been in the league now for six or seven years. This is not some kind of grand mystery. So yes, it's a break that the Patriots get Jared Stidem on Sunday in Denver. However, I am not taking Denver lightly, and I don't think any of us should take the Denver Broncos lightly. They absolutely have a chance to win this game. Now, those chances dropped when Bow Nix got hurt last weekend.

Again, no doubt about that. But it doesn't mean this is a fait accompli. It doesn't mean that the Patriots fly to Denver, walk on the field, and game over. It's not how it works. Bo Nix is a starting quarterback. We've seen him start games. But Bo Nix is not a great starting quarterback. Bo Nix is not an elite starting quarterback.

And this Broncos team was not built on the shoulders of the quarterback. This is not like going from Drake May MVP candidate to Joshua Dobbs with all due respect to Joshua Dobbs. That is not this kind of drop that. we're going to witness. Bo Nix in the regular season was 26th in the NFL in passer rating, sandwiched between Tuatunga Tuaua and Bryce Young. He was 15th in the NFL this year in QBR, sandwiched between Trevor Lawrence and Caleb Williams. He was 24th in completion percentage. He was 26th in completion percentage over-expected. He was 13th, an EPA per dropback. Bo Nix is a good quarterback. Bo Nix, I think if you rank the quarterbacks in the NFL,

would fall somewhere between number 15 and number 20 this season. But you're still going from a top 15 to 20 quarterback to at best the 33rd quarterback in the NFL. And that's if you believe Jared Stidham is the best, the very best backup in the entire league. So yes, it is a drop off, but it is not a significant drop off. You're not going from a top five guy to the fourth. 45th best quarterback in the league. Sean Payton also. We have to respect Sean Payton.

Even though he angered me with his comments this week about Broncos fans will have plenty of rest after this game. Dot, dot, dot, two weeks. Cool. I'm glad you have the confidence, Sean Payton. That's great. But I do respect Sean Payton's history of dealing with limited quarterbacks and dealing with backup quarterbacks. As far as limited quarterbacks, as great as Drew Breeze was, accuracy-wise, and as smart as he was, he was short.

He did not have a great arm strength, but Sean Payne understood how to curtail that offense to make it best for Drew Brees. Bo Nix is inconsistent. There's no doubt, but Sean Payton gets the most out of Bo Nix. You go back to Sean Payton's time. In New Orleans, Haysam Hill was seven and two as a starting quarterback,

not too shabby given his limitations. Daniel Rotman on Twitter, scout the NFL posted that Teddy Bridgewater was 5 and oh with Sean Payton as his coach in 2019. So Sean Payton has proven that he can win NFL games with limited quarterbacks and he can win NFL games with backup quarterbacks. This is nothing new for Sean Payton. And again, this team is not necessarily built on the quarterback's shoulders. This team is built at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football.

And that is mostly intact. The offensive line is mostly intact and could be fully intact by Sunday. The defensive line is intact. So this is a team, its strength, is at the line of scrimmage, winning in the trenches, which we will dive deeper into during this episode. They're also good on special teams. Darren Rizzy, shout out, former head coach of the University of Rhode Island Rams where I went to college. Darren Rizzi is one of the most respected special teams coordinators in all of football.

So you mix. You mix the strong line of scrimmage play with the special teams and a sprinkle of magic in the fourth quarter by Bo Nix. And that's how this team has won football games in 2020. So I'm not going to sit here and take the Denver Broncos lightly. However, I will also say there is zero doubt in my mind that Mike Vrable will have the Patriots ready. There's no doubt in my mind that by the time this game kicks off on Sunday afternoon, that Mike Vrable will have his guys taking Jared Stidham seriously, understanding the consequences of how they play this game on Sunday.

This is your chance. 60 minutes of good and responsible football. 60 minutes could get you to the Super Bowl. This Broncos defense is legit, but they have weaknesses. We'll talk about that next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Tax season doesn't have to take over your life, folks.

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For a limited time, you can have your taxes done by a local turbotax expert for just $150 all in. If a turbo tax expert didn't file for you last year, just filed by February 28th, take taxes off your plate and get back to your life. Visit turbotax.com slash local to book your appointment today. I remind all of you post game live post game coming up following. Broncos Patriots on Sunday right here on YouTube. Lockdown Patriots, your place to be. And thank you. Thank you for sticking with me here. I began in April of 25, marching towards the first year with lockdown. And I can't thank all of you enough. You have been tremendous in supporting this show and supporting the community. By the way,

all of you, you already live your team every day. Now take it up a level. Go ad free. Join the Everydayer Club to get Lockdown Patriots with no. No interruptions, members only Discord access, and more, all for just $5 a month or 50 bucks for the year. Go to lockdown patriots.supercast.com or check the link in the show notes to learn more. Also, don't forget to click that thumbs up. If you're watching us on YouTube, helps us with the algorithm. Always appreciate that. So like us.

Throw a comment in. I want your prediction for this football game. What is your prediction? Who is going to win and what is going to be the final score? And also don't forget to subscribe. We have hit our goal. 8,500 plus subscribers, thanks to all of you. Let's keep going.

Let's continue to build the Patriots community here with lockdown. Let's continue to prove to other lockdown shows that Lockdown Patriots is right at the top of the mountain. So don't forget to subscribe. Next goal, we're going to go to 9,000. Next goal, 9,000 subscribers. All right, let's jump into this deep dive preview. defensively, the Broncos statistically and analytically are impressive. They've got talent at every level.

Nick Benito, Zach Allen. They've just got, I mean, they've got so much talent on that side of the football. They really do. And there's no doubt, there's no need to kind of talk down this defense. And there's absolute need to talk up this defense because they are just, just that talented. And again, statistically and analytically, they've been really good.

Dre Greenlaw at the second level, Patrick Sartan, arguably the best cornerback in all of football. And that secondary Talanoa Hufanga, also a pretty darn good football player. So they've got the talent. They've got the talent. And their defensive coordinator, Vance Joseph, very experienced,

very respected defensive coordinator. Let's start with their pass rush. Their pass rush is legit. Second in pressure rate this season. 40.7 percent. They are only one of two teams above 40 percent with the pressure rate. The other team was the Minnesota Vikings at 41.4 percent. The Broncos, by the way, led the NFL with 68 sacks this year. Not only are they second in pressure rate, they are third in the entire NFL during this regular season in pass rush win rate. Nick Benito, remember that name. He actually finished second in pass rush win rate at defensive end.

Finished second. John Franklin Myers. On the interior finished eighth in pass rush win rate. Zach Allen on the interior finished 13th in past rush win rate. And I always highlight time to pressure. The Broncos were top 10 in time to pressure. They get to the quarterback quickly. They were ninth in TTP this year at two.

2.66 seconds. Pro football focus notes that Nick Benito lines up across left tackles 87% of the time. So this is Nick Benito versus Will Campbell, something that I highlighted during the crossover episode. And we all know why. Will Campbell is under a microscope. What I watched from Nick Benito against the bills last weekend on the film is, yes, he relies on speed, very fast. but the biggest issue that I saw lined up across Dion Dawkins, who's one of the best left tackles at all football, when Nick Benito goes to the wide nine, which means he spreads out even wider, right? So if you're watching the end zone angle,

Nick Benito is way out wide of the formation. When he goes wide nine, he's a problem. And he did that at the beginning of the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills and ended up getting a strip sack, which was a huge play for them. So I asked, how much will the Patriots help Will Campbell against Nick Benito? And will they move the pocket? Because I'm telling you, if they don't move the pocket, they could be in trouble.

So how much will Will Campbell be helped on Sunday? And Josh McDaniel spoke to the media saying, you know, yeah, you can try to help and you can try to help protections, but it changes from game to game. It changes from play to play. And so it's not always figured out, right? Like in real time, you've got to figure out what you want to do to accomplish slowing down a pass rusher. So I would imagine that Josh McDaniels right now has at least some plan to move the pocket. How much will that be?

We'll see. And how much help as far as chips will be sent towards Will Campbell? We'll see. Nick Benito could absolutely destroy this game for the Patriots offense. We all hope that doesn't happen. Now, meanwhile, Vance Joseph's approach, he's very aggressive. The Broncos were fifth in Blitzray in the NFL this year. the fifth highest blitz rate.

They blitzed more than 32% of the time. And last weekend, they blitzed Josh Allen even more. Vance Joseph blitzed Josh Allen over 38% of the time last weekend in the divisional round. And Vance Joseph will get a little bit tricky. He will run creeper pressure. He will run simulated pressure. Evan Lazar pointed out at Patriots.com that the Broncos had an unblocked pressure rate of 9.8%, which was third best in the NFL this season.

So they can get after the quarterback. They are very aggressive. They will blitz you an awful lot. And they will also disguise things and run creeper and simulated pressures. They also rely a lot on man coverage. And you wonder, you know, how that will impact Drake May. The Broncos this season ran man coverage at 32.8 percent, which was the second highest man usage rate in the NFL this year.

Now, pro football focus will tell you, and I know their grades are polarizing, but pro football focus will tell you, Drake May versus man coverage, his passing grade was 22nd in the league this year. Drake May versus zone coverage, he was number two in the NFL. Now, if on the Patriots, I would not be afraid of testing Riley Moss, which is the other cornerback, not named Patrick Sartan, on this defense, I would test Riley Moss two or three times, at least in this game. Now, you wonder if Sartan is fully healthy.

He had a peck injury earlier in the season. He had a stinger against the bills. Pro football focus noted that against the bills, Patrick Sartan gave up a 142.7 passer rating in coverage. If that happens against the Patriots, I think the Broncos defense is in trouble. But I would not go out hunting Patrick Sartan in coverage. I think that would be a mistake. The Broncos run defense is statistically really good. I mean, you can go up and down.

Their fourth and run stop win rate, DJ Jones is third and Malcolm Roach is seventh at the interior defensive line spots. They're second and yards per game. They're tied for second and yards per attempt. They're sixth in stuff rate. They're second and yards before contact per attempt, which tells me their defensive line does work. But they are 22nd.

When they're facing stacked boxes, right, the stack box rate is 22nd. But I will tell you, against the bills, this Broncos defense was susceptible against quarterback runs and scrambles. And I thought Josh Allen's mobility gave the Broncos defense some fits. They are aggressive in the front seven. And they're going to attack. But Josh Allen was able to attack them back with his legs multiple times. And if Drake May is calculating correctly, I think he could do the same against this Broncos defense. I think this Broncos defense as as great as their statistics and analytics are and as talented

as they are, I do think there will be absolutely opportunities for this Patriots offense on Sunday. And the fact is this Broncos defense has not been the same the last four or five weeks. When they've played good quarterbacks, they have given up a bunch of points, including last weekend of Josh Allen and the bills. So what can the Patriots do? what kind of opportunity will be there against this Broncos defense. I think the Patriots can use Denver's aggressiveness against them.

Their defensive ends, not at all times. Do they have great integrity with the pass rush? Sometimes they get too deep down field. Sometimes they get too aggressive. And that opens up some spots for the quarterback to step up. So, you know, pass rush integrity from the edges. Talanoa Hufanga is a great example of the Broncos. He's an aggressive player, and he will absolutely smoke you with a hit.

However, sometimes he's overaggressive, and sometimes, you know, he tries to be shot out of a cannon and misses a tackle. So there is some feast or famine to his game. So I think you could use Denver's aggressiveness against them. I think you could run some screens. I think like the Buffalo Bills did, they ran a lot. of late motion with their receivers to try to change the eyes of the Denver defense, put their defense in motion and mess them up. Nicole Hardman had a touchdown catch on a return motion where, you know, it looks like you're

going to go across the line of scrimmage, behind the line of scrimmage. But instead, you kind of stop and you go right back. You retrace your steps. We saw that a lot in the Eagles Chiefs Super Bowl a few years ago. Well, the bills did that, got a touchdown out of it. So I think, you know, late motion with your receivers and sometimes your backs. some misdirection. I think this game could be a good game for a play action. You can see the linebackers who are not the fastest for the Broncos at this point.

Sometimes they get sucked in. Linebacker Alex Singleton, he got absolutely lost multiple times against the bills and coverage. Some plays in the flats. So I think you'll have some opportunities there. Other passing concepts that were open for Buffalo's offense, the whole shots towards the boundary when you're trying to sneak the football, between the safety and the corner. We've seen Drake May hit the whole shots a number of times this year.

That play was open against Denver's defense in that Bill's game last weekend. Leaking out the running backs and the tight ends into the flat, sometimes using screen game. Those types of plays were open. Again, I don't think the Broncos are the most disciplined defense, and I think you take advantage of that undisciplined, aggressive play at times. Leak out the tight end across the formations, right? leak out your running backs into the flat.

And I think you could pick up some yardage with those types of plays. Now, it's tough to run the football inside against the Broncos front. It's very tough. Zach Allen is darn good. But I do think you can run the perimeter. I do think you can run at their defensive ends. They're not the biggest defensive ends. Nick Benito, you know, specifically very fast, great athlete, but he's not the biggest guy.

And Buffalo, Joe Brady, their offensive coordinator, ran at the perimeter against this defense. And they had, you know, they had some good runs with James Cook at the edges. So I think you can attack the perimeter. Maybe this is one of those games where Trayvion Henderson gets to the outside and busts a big run. In the run game, you want to get to the second level and even the third level because their tackling is not as solid. the linebackers look out of overshoot sometimes. I talked about Talanoa Hufanga. Patrick Sartan does not look like he wants to be too physical out there.

So if you can get to the second level, you know, the Broncos defense 15th in rushing yards after contact per attempt. So before contact, they're number two. They can get you at the line of scrimmage or behind the line of scrimmage. But if you can get past that and get to the second level, they're pretty much middle of the pack when it comes to giving up rushing yards after contact. So I do think this offense for the Patriots will have opportunities. Again, obviously they have to protect Drake May and Drake May has to protect the football.

Coming up, the Pat's defense gets ready for the unknown and we'll have our prediction. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. The NFL season is in full swing and there's nothing like being at the game. the crowd noise, the energy, and sharing alongside other fans. Watching at home is great, but being in the stadium just hits different. The frustrating part has always been getting tickets, waiting in cues, dealing with logins, and watching prices change right at checkout. That's why the GameTime app gives the advantage back to fans.

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Again, that's Fandul, official sports book partner of the NFL and grab your profit boost pack every NFL playoff game day. Don't forget about the lap post game coming up on Sunday following the Patriots and Broncos. Let's talk Patriots defense against the Broncos offense. Now, Denver's offense, a huge unknown, I think, with Jared Stidham. Beyond the script, it's going to be interesting to see how Sean Payton adjusts throughout the game, how Jared Stidham adjusts, and how Zach Kor adjusts calling the defense. I think it's going to be very difficult for Jared Stidham to get better

and better and better throughout this game. So the script is going to be dangerous. It'll be interesting. Will Sean Payton focus on, you know, half field reads, so to speak, off bootleg action with Jared Stidham? Will he look to give quick, easy options for Jared Stidham? Not too many shots down field. We'll see how Sean Payton calls this game, but it's going to be pretty much unknown. Now, let's start with the offensive line. The Broncos offensive line is the best offensive line the Patriots have faced all year. Garrett Bowles at left tackle, Mike McGlynn at right tackle. Those two guys are studs. And inevitably, the question is, will the Patriots be able to get the kind of pressure

that they get against the Chargers and the Texans? Because those two offensive lines compared to the Broncos' offensive line, different universe. The Broncos pass protection, third best in pressure rate. They are eighth in past block win rate. Garrett Bowles is ninth, Mike McGlinchie 14th, at offensive tackle. So there are two tackles in the top 15 for past block win rate. Huge challenge for Anthony Jennings, maybe Harold Landry, who didn't practice on Thursday,

but especially Caleb-on Chase-on. Caleb-on-Chayson is going to be facing a pretty, pretty big challenging Garrett Bowles on the left side. The Denver Broncos, 14th as an offensive line in time two pressure. Some questions. Will the Patriots blitz a ton? They've been blitzing a lot since the by week. They've blitzed a ton in the playoffs. Denver, interestingly enough, in the regular season, their offensive line face the fourth lowest blitz blitz Jared Stidham. I think they will. I think they will try to heat him up. Aaron Schatz from DVOA.

He actually writes that Bo Nix took 22 sacks and 17 games started this year. Jared Stidham and his four starts in the NFL has taken 13 sacks. Jared Stidham takes sacks. Tends to get a little antsy. do think the Patriots are going to blitz him. And I would not be surprised that they blitz him a decent amount. I also wonder on the back end, will we see more zone coverage? I think we will.

I think the Patriots will try to muddy the picture, so to speak, against Jared Stidham. Try to confuse him and disguise your coverages. You look at the interior defensive line for the Patriots, Christian Barmore, Milton Williams, Kyrie's Tonga, Corey Durden, Leonard Taylor. Can they beat the interior offensive line of the Denver Broncos? Now, Quinn Miners is a really good guard, one of the best in football, but there is nobody on the inside of this offensive line that is ranked in pass block win rate.

That might be your opportunity. Now, I do want to mention that, you know, if you look at the Broncos O line, they could be getting somebody back that would be important. And that would be Luke Wattonberg, their center. His 21-day window has been opened up. That would help the interior of that O line. But I still think you might see a little bit of. the action on the inside where Christian Barmore, Milton Williams, Atanga, Durdin, and Taylor,

they get going a little bit. Taylor Kyle's mentioned on Twitter that Christian Barmore actually had two sacks against Quinn Miners the last time the Patriots went to Denver, including a strip sack. Now, how much will Sean Payton use that bootleg rollout action without Bo Nix? We'll see. Evan Lazar wrote that the Broncos have the second highest designed rollout rate in no quarterback attempts, more throws on the run than Bo Nix. Now, Jared Stidham does have some mobility, but he is not as mobile as Bo Nix is. That could fundamentally change the Broncos offense on Sunday. The run game, not great.

16th in EPA, that is more on the running backs. The offensive line does the job. The offensive line is fourth in run-block win rate. But when you look at the Broncos, they're 21st in rushing yards over-expected, 25th in yards after contact per attempt. Now, J.K. Dobbins is better 13th in the league than R.J. Harvey, who's 36th. So if J.K. Dobbins plays, I do think he would help this rushing offense, but it has still been a middle of the pack at best rushing offense. And of course, as we know, Milton

Williams and Robert Spillane have changed the run defenses math for the Patriots. They've been much better since they've come back. Now, you're dealing with a backup quarterback, you're dealing with some dinged up receivers and Pat Bryant and Troy Franklin, who both have been on the practice field this week. It makes you wonder, will Sean Payton try to run the football more? Evan Lazar points out that the Broncos ranked seventh in dropbacks per game. Last week, Denver only attempted 10 traditional runs to 50 dropbacks, and that's against a Bill's defense that is not good against the run. Sean Payton loves to throw the football. This offense is designed to throw the football.

This offense is designed to throw the football off the run, right? Off bootleg. It could be a completely different script for the Broncos offense. And we have no idea how Jared Stidim is going to handle that. Just a couple of other notes. Robert Spillane mentioned to the media that the Broncos run a lot of funky formations, and they do. Zach Corr mentioned to the media that Sean Payton switches up as personnel,

very diverse personnel. So you don't really know what's coming at all times. will change things up. And yes, backup quarterback, aFC championship game, you have to ask the question, will Sean Payne have any tricks up his sleeve for Sunday? I would be ready for a trick or two.

All right. Let's get to the pick. The Patriots right now are four and a half point favorites, according to Fandall. Here's how I feel about this game. I do think that Drake May will limit his turnovers on Sunday. He didn't learn from his mistakes from the Chargers game to the Texans game,

I think he will limit his turnovers, and I think the Patriots will help him limit the turnovers. I think they will run the football more than they have the first couple of playoff games. The Denver Broncos do not have the heroics of Bo Nix, which has really allowed them to survive six or seven different times during the regular season. If it wasn't for Bo Nix in the fourth quarter, this Broncos team might not have made the playoffs. I think Mike Vrable and Drake May are better than Sean Payton and Jared Stidham.

So I'm going with the Patriots. I pick the Patriots winning this football game, 23 to 17. Of course, turnovers would change everything. But I got the Pats, 23 to 17 headed to the Super Bowl. All right, that wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen for being an everydayer. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C Radio. Don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel.

And if you're looking for a gift for someone, check out the Everydayer Club. Lockdownpatriots. com. Have a great weekend. and we will be back on Sunday live with the post game, hopefully celebrating.