The Denver Broncos are hosting the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday. But, they are doing it without starting quarterback Bo Nix. He broke his ankle at the end of the Divisional Round game against the Buffalo Bills last week, paving the way for Jarrett Stidham. But the most important player on the Broncos is not Stidham, but it is edge rusher Nik Bonitto.
The Broncos had a great season on defense, and the pass rush was led by Bonitto all year long. He followed up his 14-sack regular season with a strip sack of Josh Allen last week. He sets the tone for the entire Denver defense, which was one of the best in the league this season. And for any hope of advancing with Stidham at quarterback, the defense needs to dominate.
The Houston Texans' defense had a great game against Drake Maye and the Patriots in the Divisional Round. They knocked the ball out of his hand four times, but only recovered two of the fumbles. There is no guarantee that the weather will match the slopiness from Foxborough, but the blueprint to breaking this game is there for Bonitto.
The Patriots spent the fourth-overall pick last year on left tackle Will Campbell. After an injury stopped his season, he rejoined the team for Week 18. He struggled against Will Anderson Jr a week ago, one of the few edge rushers in the same tier as Bonitto. The Broncos have made it this far on the back of their defense. Just because they were not perfect against Josh Allen does not mean they can't single-handedly win this game.
The Broncos' defense can be great, but the offense will have to succeed as well. If Bonitto can put Stidham in advantageous positions, Denver can go to the Super Bowl.
The Broncos have a great ensemble to support Jarrett Stidham
The Broncos' defense has been their calling card all season long. Patrick Surtain II is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga came over from the 49ers, and Bonitto closes the deal at the quarterback. It is a similar setup to the one they had ten years ago when Von Miller led the way to a Super Bowl win.
That year, a Hall of Famer was at quarterback for the Broncos. Peyton Manning won his second Super Bowl when they beat the Carolina Panthers, but he was hardly The Sheriff at that point. His arm strength had deteriorated significantly, and he was no longer the gunslinger from the Colts days. But the Broncos won that Super Bowl against MVP Cam Newton due to their defense.
Also in that Super Bowl, running back CJ Anderson put up 100 total yards and a touchdown. The week before, against the Patriots in Denver, Anderson also had 100 total yards exactly. Playing the role of Anderson in 2026 will be RJ Harvey, who has been the featured back ever since JK Dobbins went down with an injury.
The running game will be huge for the Broncos. Once the Patriots knew CJ Stroud could not pass the ball on Sunday, they sold out to stop the run. Milton Williams successfully stopped a lot of Woody Marks' attempts, putting all of the pressure back on Stroud. That will be their gameplan against Harvey and Stidham, but the Broncos' offensive line is in much better shape than Houston's.
The Broncos and Patriots are set to renew their playoff rivalry in the AFC Championship Game. But what would have been posed as an old-school matchup with new, young quarterbacks has changed into David vs Goliath. But David has a defense and a running game, so maybe this isn't a lopsided matchup.
