FOXBOROUGH — In the most unexpected of seasons, the Patriots have always been able to count on ... well, being counted out. Or, at the very least, dismissed.
The schedule was ridiculously easy.
They caught the Bills by surprise early, but couldn't beat them at home.
Tampa didn't have half its offense, and still didn't even make the playoffs. Not a good win.
Lamar Jackson didn't finish the Ravens game when the Patriots came back.
Even in the playoffs, they beat a Chargers team with the league's worst offensive line. The Texans didn't have Nico Collins, Dalton Schultz or Trent Brown. Just a continuation of the regular season.
That's made it fairly easy for the Patriots to play the disrespect card, or that nobody believes in them. Or, as we heard after the Patriots' 28-16 win over the Texans, the Patriots' defense wasn't getting enough respect compared to Houston's unit (I mean, facts are facts).
Heck, even ESPN was doing its part to fan the flames.
Oh yes? 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/itIGQBkgxt
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) January 18, 2026
And good on the Patriots for using all that and more to help fuel themselves a little bit on the way to the AFC Championship (even though it was really just good coaching, good health, and execution ... the rest of that stuff is completely overrated once the game kicks off).
But here's the thing, as New England prepares to go to Denver and the Patriots' personal house of horrors, Empower Field at Mile High, to play the AFC Championship Game at 3 p.m. Sunday, all that stuff about the Patriots being underrated and how they haven't gotten the respect they deserve, all of that is over. At least for this week.
In fact, the team that no one expected to be here will have all the pressure on them to advance to Super Bowl LX in San Francisco, against either the Seahawks or Rams.
Talk about a turnaround. The team that the coach just wanted to be good enough to take advantage of bad football, the team that dialed back expectations after getting shredded in a joint practice with the Vikings, the team that was a heel from starting 0-3, stands at 16-3 and is now a prohibitive favorite in a road conference championship game.
The Patriots are currently 5.5-point favorites against the Broncos, and we all know why. The Broncos lost starting quarterback Bo Nix on the second-to-last play, one that was utterly meaningless, in their overtime win over the Bills. The Patriots will face the Patriots' 2019 fourth-round pick, Jarrett Stidham, the only backup in the NFL not to throw a pass this season. Stidham's six-year career: 1-3 as a starter (only win was over the 5-12 Chargers in 2023 under interim coach Giff Smith), 59% completions, 8 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, and 19 sacks taken.
Basically, all the pressure is on the Patriots. As opposed to the Texans' game, where a loss against a great defense maybe wouldn't have been a failure (it's happened to Tom Brady), a loss to the Broncos would be viewed as a failure, possibly an epic one that would be talked about for years.
The Patriots can't lose this game. Not to Stidham.
And, guess what? Now the Broncos get to play the disrespect card all week. No one is going to pick them. No one is going to think they have a chance.
Do I think the Broncos have a chance in hell?
Well, I can tell you that
