28-16 victory over Houston<\/a> in the divisional round.<\/p>\nDenver (15-4) was limited to 181 yards on 58 plays Sunday (3.1 yards per play), much of which came on a 52-yard pass play in the opening quarter. Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham had a 52-yard pass to Marvin Mims early in the first quarter and not much else. He completed 17-of-31 pass attempts for 133 yards and was sacked twice, with a fumble and a fourth-quarter interception while trying to go deep with 2:12 remaining.<\/p>\n
Two of the biggest plays Sunday were turned in by the New England defense.<\/p>\n
Leading 7-0, Denver drove to the New England 14-yard line early in the second quarter but kept its offense on the field for a fourth-and-one play instead of attempting a field goal. Stidham was pressured by defensive tackle Milton Williams and had his pass knocked down by safety Craig Woodson.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just felt like, man, we had momentum, to get up 14 [points], felt like we had a good call,\u201d Payton said. \u201cI think the feeling was, man, let\u2019s be aggressive. You know, to get up 14, I was just watching the way our defense was playing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s always regrets. I felt like here we are fourth-and-1, close enough and it\u2019s also a call you make based on the team you\u2019re playing and what you\u2019re watching on the other side of the ball. So, yeah, there\u2019ll always be second thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denver was held to 63 yards on its next eight drives. New England\u2019s only touchdown came after the defense forced Stidham to fumble on a backward pass. The Patriots recovered on the Denver 12-yard line, and two plays later Maye scored a rushing touchdown that helped New England take the lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I threw it forward and obviously the replay said differently,\u201d Stidham said. \u201cProbably should have just eaten the sack and let (Jeremy) Crawshaw punt the ball and flip the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
New England\u2019s Leonard Taylor, who was cut by the New York Jets earlier this season, got a hand on a 46-yard field goal attempt that would have tied the game, and cornerback Christian Gonzalez intercepted the Stidham pass that proved to be Denver\u2019s final offensive play.<\/p>\n
The victory earned New England its 12th Super Bowl berth. The Patriots will have a chance to break a tie with Pittsburgh for the most Super Bowl wins when they face Seattle, the NFC champion, on Feb. 8. Both Pittsburgh and New England have won six Super Bowls.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely,\u201d Williams said when he was asked if New England\u2019s defense has been overlooked this season. \u201cAll year. We\u2019ve got the chip on our shoulder to come out here every time we step between them white lines and show everybody who we are, and that\u2019s the bottom line.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s got to be done on the field, and we came out here and did that today.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
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