Patriots vs. Broncos:
(Conner) – Both teams come into this game off somewhat disappointing weekends. For the Patriots, possible MVP winner Drake Maye threw two interceptions and coughed up the football four times, losing possession twice. The Broncos lost QB Bo Nix because he broke a bone in his ankle, putting him out for the rest of the playoffs. Even though both teams won, it was not as clean a weekend as they were hoping for.
Everyone is going to rush to say that the Patriots are going to win this game by a landslide because the Broncos will have to start backup QB Jarrett Stidham. However, he will not be the reason why the Broncos lose. If Philip Rivers can come out of retirement and almost beat the No. 1-seeded Seahawks, Stidham can bring the Broncos, with their amazing defense, to the Super Bowl.
Stidham may not have thrown a football since the 2023 NFL season, but he is ready.
“I’ve prepared the same every single week, like I am the starter,” Stidham said at a press conference on Wednesday. “My preparation hasn’t changed one bit.”
In two starts in 2023, Stidham averaged 248 yards and an 87.7 passer rating. In 2022, when he was on the Raiders, he put up 365 yards, three touchdowns and a 108.1 passer rating against the eventual No. 2-seeded 49ers.
Stidham has the experience, and Nix has not been great recently, having a sub-90 quarterback rating in nine out of his last 10 games. Therefore, I do not think the Broncos will struggle too much without Nix.
The problem is that I see their defense struggling a bit. The Patriots put up 28 points last week against arguably the second-best defense in the NFL. Granted, QB C.J. Stroud threw four interceptions, but four interceptions is four interceptions. Patriots’ RB Rhamondre Stevenson also averaged 4.4 yards per carry.
Last week, the Broncos’ defense allowed 4.9 yards per carry and 117 rushing yards against Bills RB James Cook III. Although Stevenson is not as good as Cook III, he has averaged 4.4 a carry or more in both of his playoff games. It is also just a matter of time until TreVeyon Henderson breaks out as well. He averaged 5.1 a carry in the regular season.
Maye also probably has had his last mediocre playoff game. I believe he can return to his MVP self this week.
The Broncos’ defense also forced five turnovers last week and still allowed 30 points. They have a great defensive line, but their secondary can be penetrated. They gave up 115 receiving yards to TEs Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox. This means Maye should find success targeting Hunter Henry, who had a decent regular season.
Although Maye may be under pressure, having already taken 10 sacks in just two playoff games, he has still found ways to put up points. The Broncos may have recorded the most sacks in the NFL in 2025, but they also blitz 31.9% of the time, the third-highest in the NFL. Against the blitz this season, Maye is first in quarterback rating and yards per attempt. Also, if Khalil Shakir can go off against the Broncos, so can Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte.
Denver’s offense may also struggle because of its supporting cast around Stidham. Last week, RB RJ Harvey averaged just 3.1 yards per carry. WR Troy Franklin also left the game early due to a hamstring injury. RB J.K. Dobbins may return this week, but he has not played since Nov. 6. Franklin may also play, but if he does, he may not be as effective, having to play off a recently-injured hamstring.
The Patriots’ defense also held Texans’ RB Woody Marks to just 1.2 yards per carry last week, after he averaged 5.9 against the Steelers in the Wild Card Round. Their defense has also held opposing offenses to an average of 9.5 points a game.
Even though the Patriots’ offense has not been very cohesive during the playoffs, I think they will do enough to get the job done, especially with how their defense has been playing. If the Broncos’ defense was better in the Divisional Round and their offense was fully healthy, outside of Nix, I think the Broncos would have proven that they could win this week. Unfortunately for the Broncos, they proved neither of those accurate last week. The game will be close, but the Patriots will pull it out.
Prediction: Patriots 28-21
(Abe) –
For the Patriots, the luck of playing weak teams continues. All year, they had a soft-serve schedule, and in the playoffs it has continued. With Nix out for the Broncos, they will need to run the football for 150+ yards and dominate time of possession. Their defense is good enough to dominate the Patriots’ offensive line, and with their secondary being good, it will give the defensive line time to attack. Nik Bonitto has been stellar for the Broncos, and against Will Campbell, coming off a terrible game against the Texans, expect more of the same.
For the Patriots, they need to lean on Maye. At the beginning of the season, he was dominant and earned himself an MVP finalist spot, but he has regressed. Defenses have almost figured him out, and if he wants to be seen as a top QB and not a one-year “guy,” he must show up big for the first time in his young career.
Prediction: Patriots 17-14
Rams vs. Seahawks:
(Conner) – Let’s get one thing straight: this game is essentially a coinflip. The Rams have the No. 1 scoring offense heading into this game, while the Seahawks have the No. 1 scoring defense. Historically, since the beginning of the Super Bowl Era, when the best scoring offense has played the best scoring defense, the team with the No. 1 scoring offense is 8–1.
Additionally, only two other times has the best scoring offense met the best scoring defense in a conference championship game. The team with the top-scoring defense won in both cases: the 2014 Seahawks (against the Packers) and the 1980 Eagles (against the Cowboys).
However, the Seahawks have never defeated the Rams in the postseason in two matchups. The Seahawks will also be without Zach Charbonnet after he tore his ACL in the Divisional Round, while the Rams will have Davante Adams, whom they did not have in Week 16.
“He’s [Charbonnet] been a huge part of our offense … he’s been really good for us this year, so we’re going to miss him,” Seahawks’ QB Sam Darnold said on Wednesday at a press conference. “But we got a lot of guys that can step up.”
However, the Seahawks will need to hope that Kenneth Walker III goes off in this game since Charbonnet cannot play. Their three possible backup running backs to Walker III — Cam Akers, George Holani and Velus Jones Jr. — have a combined 124 rushing yards all year.
It is possible that they could “step up,” but their effectiveness would definitely be a question mark.
If Walker III does not go off, even though he has averaged 6.1 or more yards per carry in three out of his past four games, they will need to rely on Darnold and WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba. JSN has been quiet recently, not having a 100-yard game since Dec. 14, and Darnold has struggled his entire career against the Rams.
This season, he has a six-to-two interception-to-touchdown ratio against the Rams. Last year in the playoffs against the Rams, he threw 15 incompletions, an interception and was sacked nine times. Every time he plays the Rams in primetime, he sees ghosts. Darnold also only threw 17 passes in last week’s Divisional Round blowout win over the Niners. Even in his one playoff win, he has not proved much.
However, with how the Rams’ defense has played recently, I see Darnold playing solidly. I do not think he will completely melt down now that he has more playoff experience, and he has already played the Rams twice. The Rams have also struggled guarding wideouts recently, meaning JSN and Cooper Kupp should be open.
The Rams have been better against the run in the playoffs, but Walker III has averaged over four yards a carry the last two times these teams faced off.
But will it even matter if the Seahawks’ defense, “The Dark Side,” plays as they have in their past two games? The Seahawks held the Niners to nine total points over their past two games. That is hard to do, especially against Kyle Shanahan. However, Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald clearly has Kyle Shanahan’s offense figured out. Whether he fully understands Sean McVay’s offense is still to be determined.
In Week 11, he limited the Rams to 21 points, and just seven after the first quarter. But in Week 16, McVay’s offense went off for 37.
The Rams’ offense has been the best all year and only really struggled against the Bears due to the extreme weather conditions. The Seahawks will need to find a way to limit Kyren Williams. When the Hawks won in Week 16, Williams averaged three yards per carry. When the Rams won, Williams averaged 7.6.
I envision the Rams’ offense producing, but not putting up 37 as they did in Week 16. I could see them putting up around 24 points, however. The Hawks held the Niners to nine points combined in the last two games, but I do not see them being able to do that. Brock Purdy held on to the ball for too long and did not have anyone open. The Rams will have WRs Puka Nacua and Adams open, and Stafford will be willing to check the ball down, unlike Purdy.
If the Rams can dink and dunk, every once in a while hit a big play and show up defensively, they will win. If the Seahawks get above-average quarterback play from Darnold and their defense can hold the Rams, they will win. Overall, I am going to side with history and take the Seahawks. I think their defense will hold up Stafford, Nacua and Williams. Offensively, Sam Darnold should be solid, which is really all he needs to be since I think Walker will play solidly.
Prediction: Seahawks 27-26
(Abe) – The Seahawks’ defense has been their anchor all season long; the one game they did not seem to have their cards in order was Week 16. The Rams were able to throw the football all over the field, mainly to Nacua, who went for 225 receiving yards and multiple scores on 12 catches. The Rams’ offense runs through Nacua. If he is not able to get “his” so to speak, they do not have a chance at being efficient consistently. They will need to force-feed him and Davante Adams. On defense, they must continue to attack Darnold and cause him to be uncomfortable. While injuring players is never the goal, if they are able to make him fall on his stomach and re-injure his oblique, that would be massive for them.
For the Seahawks side of things, they are 1–1 versus the Rams despite Darnold throwing six interceptions. He needs to limit turnovers, not play conservatively and let Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Shaheed make plays down the field against a subpar Rams secondary. In Week 11, the Seahawks played more man and did not blitz a ton and had success stopping the Rams’ offense. In Week 16, it was the opposite. They played more zone, blitzed and Stafford carved them up. Macdonald said he made a mistake overloading the playbook, and this go around, they will be better suited to execute.
Prediction: Seahawks win 27-17
