Advancing to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 2018, the New England Patriots will face off against a fairly familiar playoff opponent — at least from a historical perspective. The Denver Broncos, after all, have stood in the team’s way on five previous occasions.
In those five postseason meetings between the Patriots and Broncos, a clear pattern can be observed: the home team has come away victoriously each time. Given that four of the five games were played in Denver, that is a definitive issue for New England: Mile High has been a house of horrors for the organization.
The Patriots were beaten 22-17 in 1986, 27-13 in 2005, 26-16 in 2013 and 20-18 in 2015. In between, they celebrated a 45-10 win at Gillette Stadium in 2011.
Let’s take a look back at those games.
Patriots vs. Broncos NFL playoff history
1986 AFC divisional round: The Patriots entered the 1986 playoffs as the reigning AFC champions, but they ran into trouble in their first ever playoff trip to Denver. While the final score was relatively close and the game tightly contested, throughout, Tony Eason and the offense failed to string consistent plays together. As a result, Denver controlled time of possession and had almost double the first downs (23 to 12). Not even two takeaways on defense were enough to help overcome John Elway and company on the road. The last hope at victory died when Eason was sacked for a safety to finalize the score at 22-17. | Highlights
2005 AFC divisional round: In his fifth season as starting quarterback, Tom Brady had still never lost a playoff game. However, his perfect 10-0 record found its end at Mile High in January 2005. A defensive battle throughout the day, the Patriots were down 10-6 in the late when they found themselves deep in Denver territory. However, on 3rd-and-goal, Brady threw an interception to cornerback Champ Bailey that ended up getting returned 100 yards all the way to the New England 1-yard line; one play later, the Broncos were in the end zone to add to their lead. The play — which was notable for Ben Watson chasing down Bailey from across the field and forcing the ball out on what very well could have been ruled a touchback — was not the only problem for the visitors that day: they turned the ball over five times and missed a field goal. | Highlights
2011 AFC divisional round: “Tebowmania” had, for better or worse, swept the nation in 2011, but the Patriots put an end to it in the 2011 divisional playoffs: they thoroughly dismantled at outmatched opponent, and along the way held Tim Tebow to a 35% completion rate and with no touchdowns and a lost fumble. Offensively, meanwhile, Tom Brady went 26-of-34 for 363 yards with six touchdowns and an interception (plus a 48-yard punt), while Rob Gronkowski finished with 145 yards and three scores on 10 receptions. Two months after their 45-10 defeat, the Broncos traded Tebow to the Jets. | Highlights
2013 AFC Championship Game: New England got the better of the highest scoring offense in NFL history in the regular season, but the Broncos had their revenge with the Super Bowl on the line. While the home team steadily kept chipping away and producing long drives, the Patriots’ own offense was stuck in the mud throughout the day. By the early fourth quarter, they were trailing 23-3 and despite some late touchdowns from Julian Edelman and Tom Brady could not work their way back into the contest. | Highlights
2015 AFC Championship Game: Despite Tom Brady being under relentless pressure against one of the best defenses of the Super Bowl era, the Patriots had a chance to tie the game late. With him and Rob Gronkowski leading the way, they converted two fourth downs to score a touchdown and cut their deficit to 20-18. However, the ensuing two-point try was doomed from the start and ended as an interception to effectively end the game. At that point, multiple miscues loomed large: the Patriots had unsuccessfully gone for it on fourth down while in scoring range twice, had turned the ball over on two occasions, and saw Stephen Gostkowski miss his first extra point in 524 attempts. | Highlights
For the Patriots, the hope will be that the streak of the home team winning will come to an end on Sunday. The latest iteration of the playoff rivalry, after all, will once again take place at Mile High.
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