{"id":42220,"date":"2026-01-23T12:07:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42220"},"modified":"2026-01-23T12:07:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:07:57","slug":"nfl-bold-predictions-for-the-afc-championship-playoff-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42220","title":{"rendered":"NFL bold predictions for the AFC Championship playoff game"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/default-353-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Drake Maye \u2013 Quarterback, New England Patriots\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The AFC Championship game is set as the number two seed, the New England Patriots, head to Denver to face the number one seed, the Broncos. The two teams were the best in the AFC all season long, so the matchup isn\u2019t surprising, yet there is one major factor that gives the Patriots the edge.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/USATSI_28034123-1024x707.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Broncos quarterback Bo Nix injured his ankle at the end of the game last week and will miss the remainder of the season. This news makes the Patriots a clear favorite in this game, but don\u2019t count the Broncos out. Here are the bold predictions and a score prediction for the game on Sunday.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-new-england-patriots\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>New England Patriots<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/USATSI_27933864_168396005_lowres-1024x647.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson has over 100 all-purpose yards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Patriots QB Drake Maye turns the ball over twice<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Patriots WR Stefon Diggs catches 8 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Patriots TE Hunter Henry is held to just three catches<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Patriots defense records 4 sacks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"h-denver-broncos\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Denver Broncos<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-97805\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27426698-1024x687.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27426698-1024x687.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27426698-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27426698-768x516.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27426698-1536x1031.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27426698-2048x1375.jpg 2048w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"687\" \/><\/figure>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Broncos RB RJ Harvey is held to under 40 rushing yards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Broncos TE Evan Engram has his best game of the season and scores a touchdown<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Broncos QB Jarett Stidham throws two touchdown passes and has no turnovers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Broncos WR Courtland Sutton is completely shut down by Christian Gonzalez<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Broncos defense forces three turnovers and records five sacks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Please enable cookies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - 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