{"id":42315,"date":"2026-01-24T17:52:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T17:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315"},"modified":"2026-01-24T17:52:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T17:52:50","slug":"patriots-get-bad-news-before-afc-championship-game-vs-broncos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315","title":{"rendered":"Patriots Get Bad News Before AFC Championship Game vs Broncos"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2257293921.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2257293921.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2257293921.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2257293921.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Patriots Get Bad News Before AFC Championship Game vs Broncos\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Heading into Sunday\u2019s AFC Championship game, both the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos are battling some pretty significant injuries.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest, of course, is Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, who suffered a broken bone in his ankle in last weekend\u2019s 33-30 win over the Buffalo Bills. The injury forced backup Jarrett Stidham into the starting role \u2014 and the pressure has never been higher.<\/p>\n<p>Stidham has attempted just 66 passes in his three seasons with the Broncos \u2014 all of which came during the 2023 season. He has a tall order ahead of him in facing a Patriots defense that ranked seventh in the NFL this season and allowed he fourth-fewest points per game (18.8).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStiddy\u2019s been waiting for this moment for the entirety of his career,\u201d Broncos offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey said. \u201cHe\u2019s more prepared than anybody would be in this situation. And he can ball, he can flat out play quarterback. We\u2019ve seen it every day in practice. We\u2019ve seen it in training camp. I have no doubts he\u2019s going to go out there and play his butt off.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Brutal Injury Rocks Patriots Defense<\/h2>\n<p>While Denver is doing all it can to overcome Nix\u2019s injury, New England has a pretty significant injury of its own that it will have to work around.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the AFC Title Game: The #Patriots have ruled out leading sacker Harold Landry because of a knee injury,\u201d NFL Network\u2019s Ian Rapoport stated. \u201cMeanwhile, WR Mack Hollins (abdomen) is questionable, with optimism that he goes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Landry\u2019s loss is a big one.<\/p>\n<p>He led the Patriots with 8.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss, in addition to his 48 pressures, 29 hurries, and 10 QB hits, according to Pro Football Focus. His 11.9% pass-rush win-rate was also second-highest among edge-rushers, behind only K\u2019Lavon Chaisson (14.9%).<\/p>\n<p>Without Landry, the pass-rushing onus falls on Chaisson, who had 54 pressures, 34 hurries and 7.5 sacks, linebacker Elijah Ponder (15 pressures, 9 hurries, 4 sacks), and Milton Williams (36 pressures, 27 hurries, 3.5 sacks).<\/p>\n<p>After six seasons with the Tennessee Titans, where he played for Vrabel, Landry signed a 3-year, $43.5 million contract with the Patriots during the offseason.<\/p>\n<p>Landry has totaled 8.5 or more sacks, 40 or more pressures, and 25 of more hurries in five of his last six seasons.<\/p>\n<h2>Vrabel Gets Brutally Honest About Player Release<\/h2>\n<p>One of the players many fans were likely banking on stepping in and filling any holes along the front seven was defensive end Darrell Taylor.<\/p>\n<p>The former Seattle Seahawks second-round pick was claimed by the team last week, and he was expected to make his Patriots debut this week.<\/p>\n<p>The only problem is he\u2019s no longer on the roster.<\/p>\n<p>In an awkward interaction with a reporter, in which head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about Taylor\u2019s status, the 50-year-old coach gave a brutally honest answer about what went down with Taylor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow has Darrell Taylor gotten acclimated so far?\u201d the reporter asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUh, yeah, we released Darrel Taylor,\u201d Vrabel responded. \u201cWe\u2019ll put that out here at 4:00, so not very well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 28-year-ol Taylor has bounced around between Seattle, Chicago, and Houston before signing with New England last week. In his five-year NFL career, he\u2019d logged 126 tackles, 121 pressures, 73 hurries, 24.5 sacks, 22 QB hits, 8 forced fumbles, 5 passes defensed, and a fumble recovery, per Pro Football Focus.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The New England Patriots were hit with a brutal injury to one of their top defensive players right before Sunday&#8217;s AFC Championship Game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42315","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 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Patriots Get Bad News Before AFC Championship Game vs Broncos - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Patriots Get Bad News Before AFC Championship Game vs Broncos - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New England Patriots were hit with a brutal injury to one of their top defensive players right before Sunday&#039;s AFC Championship Game.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-24T17:52:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/new-england-bau-42.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315\",\"name\":\"Patriots Get Bad News Before AFC Championship Game vs Broncos - Breaking News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/new-england-bau-42.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-24T17:52:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-24T17:52:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/new-england-bau-42.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/new-england-bau-42.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Patriots Get Bad News Before AFC Championship Game vs Broncos\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"Breaking News\",\"description\":\"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15\",\"name\":\"MrKen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrKen\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Patriots Get Bad News Before AFC Championship Game vs Broncos - Breaking News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Patriots Get Bad News Before AFC Championship Game vs Broncos - Breaking News","og_description":"The New England Patriots were hit with a brutal injury to one of their top defensive players right before Sunday's AFC Championship Game.","og_url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315","og_site_name":"Breaking News","article_published_time":"2026-01-24T17:52:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/new-england-bau-42.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MrKen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrKen","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315","name":"Patriots Get Bad News Before AFC Championship Game vs Broncos - Breaking News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/new-england-bau-42.png","datePublished":"2026-01-24T17:52:50+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-24T17:52:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/new-england-bau-42.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/new-england-bau-42.png","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42315#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Patriots Get Bad News Before AFC Championship Game vs Broncos"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/","name":"Breaking News","description":"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15","name":"MrKen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrKen"},"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42315"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42318,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42315\/revisions\/42318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}