No postseason has had more chaotic finishes than the 2025 playoffs going on right now. There have been 15 fourth-quarter lead changes and five comeback wins in the final three minutes this postseason, the most in a single playoffs all-time, according to CBS Sports Research.
Despite all the chaos, the conference championship games for both the AFC and the NFC are somewhat chalky. The AFC features a matchup between the conference’s two top seed’s, the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos, while the NFC showcases its top seed, the Seattle Seahawks, against the team with the second-best record in the conference, the Los Angeles Rams.
Even though the heavyweights reached the NFL’s final four, the 2025 slate features the second-widest experience gap between the remaining teams’ starting quarterbacks in the league’s postseason history. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (251 career starts) has started 124 more games than Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham combined (127 combined starts). Only Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (286 career starts) had a larger gap over his three remaining conference championship quarterback peers in the 2017 season when he had 143 more starts than Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Case Keenum and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles (143 combined starts).
So what will happen in the 2025 conference championship games? Enjoy a couple early breakdowns and predictions to kick off your week.
AFC: New England Patriots (2) at Denver Broncos (1)
The quarterback matchup for this game went from a bragging rights battle for the 2024 NFL Draft’s third overall pick, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, and the 2024 NFL Draft’s 12th overall pick, Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, to bragging rights between two quarterbacks drafted by the Patriots. Broncos backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham will be filling in as Denver’s starter with Nix now out for the season after fracturing a bone in his ankle on the second to last play of the Broncos’ 33-30 overtime win in the divisional round over the Buffalo Bills.
Stidham, a 2019 fourth-round pick by New England, was actually set to enter training camp as the Patriots’ starting quarterback after Tom Brady’s free agency departure to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Then, New England signed Cam Newton just before training camp began. He’ll now be the first quarterback ever to start a conference championship game against the team that drafted him.
He’ll have his work cut for him with the way the Patriots defense is playing at the moment. New England possesses more playoff wins (two) than touchdowns allowed (one) this postseason. Their one touchdown allowed is tied for the fewest touchdowns allowed across the wild card and divisional rounds in the 21st century. The other two teams who have also done the same, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens and the 2006 Indianapolis Colts, both went on to win the Super Bowl. The Patriots turned the Texans over a whopping five times on Sunday afternoon, and they continuously got their hands on the football. New England’s 14 passes defended stands as the most by any team in a postseason game since the 2004 Philadelphia Eagles’ 17 in the divisional round against the Minnesota Vikings.
However, the Broncos are the NFL’s best pass rush, finishing the regular season with an NFL-most 68 sacks, 11 more than the second-place Atlanta Falcons’ 57. Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph isn’t afraid to bring the heat, blitzing at the fifth-highest rate (33.9%) in the regular season. The Broncos’ pass rush could put Maye in the danger zone after he’s absorbed five sacks in both the wild card and divisional rounds. Patriots left tackle Will Campbell, the 2025 NFL Draft fourth overall pick, is struggling this postseason with nine sacks and 30 quarterback pressures allowed in two games.
Where to watch Patriots vs. Broncos live
- Date: Sunday, Jan. 25 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Empower Field at Mile High (Denver)
- TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Odds: Patriots -5.5, O/U 40.5 (via DraftKings Sportsbook)
Early Patriots vs. Broncos prediction, pick
Maye, the 2025 second-team All-Pro quarterback, makes many more big time throws than Stidham despite both facing top tier defenses. Of the previous six quarterbacks to make their first start of a season in the playoffs, only one (Buffalo Bills backup Frank Reich) won a game. Reich famously led the Bills to the largest comeback in NFL postseason history, 32 points, in the 1992 wild card round against the Houston Oilers. The odds are Ne