It was not pretty, but Drake Maye and the New England Patriots have won the AFC Championship and will be playing in Super Bowl LX. The Patriots outlasted the Denver Broncos 10-7 in cold, snowy and winter conditions. The Patriots broke a 7-7 halftime tie when placekicker Andy Borregales kicked a 23-yard field on the opening drive of the third quarter.
Those were the only points scored in the second half. After the Patriots’ field goal, the weather conditions worsened dramatically and neither team was able to mount much of an offense.
Maye will lead the Patriots to the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium, Feb. 8. He will be the second-youngest starting quarterback in the Super Bowl at the age of 23 years, 162 days. Dan Marino, who led the Miami Dolphins to an appearance in Super Bowl IX following the 1984 season, was the youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl. He was slightly younger than Maye at 23 years, 127 days.
Marino and the Dolphins lost that Super Bowl appearance to Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers by a 38-16 margin. Marino completed 29 of 50 passes for 318 yards with 1 TD and 2 interceptions in that game. Montana had a brilliant day and he completed 24 of 35 passes for 331 yards and 3 TDs while avoiding any interceptions. Montana won the Super Bowl MVP award. Marino would never make another appearance in the Super Bowl.
Weather conditions limited offensive production
Maye was limited to completing 10 of 21 passes for 86 yards in the win over the Broncos. While he did not throw a touchdown pass, he ran for a touchdown in the first half and he rushed for 65 yards on 10 carries. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson led the Patriots with 71 yards on 25 carries.
Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham started in place of the injured Bo Nix. He completed 17 of 31 passes for 133 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. His backwards pass in the second quarter was ruled a fumble and recovered by the Patriots at the Denver 12. Maye scored his touchdown two plays later on a 6-yard run.
The post Patriots’ Drake Maye will be youngest Super Bowl starting QB outside Dan Marino appeared first on ClutchPoints.
