Denver Injured Drake Maye, Broncos Would've Won AFC Championship with Bo Nix

During the AFC Championship Game, it was clear the Patriots offense didn't have its usual firepower; and now we know the Denver Broncos injured Drake Maye in that game.

The news of the star quarterback's shoulder injury came out days after the AFC Championship Game, but it was downplayed by Mike Vrabel.

But, when Super Bowl LX kicked off on Sunday night, it was blatantly obvious his shoulder was injured.

That leads me to believe the Denver Broncos would've beaten the Patriots if they had Bo Nix in the AFC Championship Game, blizzard or not.

Denver Broncos Injured Drake Maye

Rewind to the AFC Championship Game, and the Patriots offense was worse than they've been basically all year long. But no one knew at the time that the Broncos actually injured Maye's shoulder.

The MVP runner-up was off. He threw the ball inaccurately, missing open receivers, and he basically never attacked deep. That was Maye's calling card all season long; the deep ball.

And his 72.0 completion percentage was the best in the NFL.

And yet, he went 10-21 (47.6%) for a mere 86 yards in the AFCCG. It was his lowest passing yardage, worst completion percentage, and worst passer rating (58.8) of his career.

But, it wasn't clear at the time why his numbers were so bad.

NFL Football is Meant to Be Played Outdoors, in the Snow

Following the AFC Championship Game, the NFL world is divided. Some have become outspoken against snow football games, while others love weather games.

Broncos BlitzRich Kurtzman

Conservative approach, snow, Denver D all slowed Maye

With the Broncos starting backup Jarrett Stidham, the Patriots were conservative in their offensive approach. They were clearly playing not to lose, rather than playing to win.

It worked, as "Stiddy" fumbled the game away.

Denver's defense played great, too. And when the snow came in during the third and fourth quarters, both offenses ground to a halt.

All of those factors were enough of a reason to understand why Maye was so bad that day.

But now we know his shoulder was injured at some point in the game.

In the lead up to the Super Bowl, Vrabel downplayed the injury.

"Not much. I try not to have a whole lot of concern," he said of his injured star quarterback. "I just want to try to prepare the football team and make sure that everybody is ready and we all have a plan. Not to surprise anybody..."

Last Monday, before Super Bowl LX, Maye told reporters he turned the corner and "I'm feeling good."

But it was clear in the Super Bowl that Maye was more injured than the Patriots let on. He was terrible in that game. Not just because he was getting rushed relentlessly, but he hesitated too often, forced passes, and tossed up a lollipop interception. And fumbled once, and had another sack-pick-6.

After the humiliating Super Bowl loss, going down 34-19 in a blowout to the Seahawks, Maye said he had a pain injection in that throwing shoulder before the game.

"I was feeling good enough to be out there," he said. "I wouldn't put the team in harm's way to not be myself. Just didn't make plays tonight."

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said Maye lied about the injury in the lead up to the Super Bowl.

“I’m not trying to lie to you guys when I say I’m feeling great,” Maye said six days before the Super Bowl. “I’m feeling great, and looking forward to getting out there today. Another day of practice, we got one tomorrow, and feeling pretty good.”

He wasn’t trying to lie when he said he was feeling great. He was, as suggested by the painkilling injection he received six days later, successfully doing so.

It was clear in the Super Bowl—and now the AFC Championship Game too—that Maye didn't have his deep ball. That neutered the offense, made them be conservative, and that injury caused by the Broncos was completely exposed.

So, with all that now known, I think it's safe to say what Broncos fans have been saying for weeks: The Broncos would've beaten the Pats with a healthy Bo Nix.

5 Reasons Denver Broncos Lost AFC Championship Game

The Denver Broncos lost the AFC Championship to New England due to multiple small mistakes. From not lining up right on one field goal to poor blocking and more.

Broncos BlitzRich Kurtzman

Broncos would've beaten the Patriots with Bo Nix

This statement may not come as a surprise to some Broncos fans who have been saying it since the day Denver lost.

I mean, sure. It seemed evident at the time that the AFC Championship Game would've been different with Bo Nix, but it was also some cope by a distraught fanbase.

I tried to not buy into it. The Pats wouldn't have played so conservatively if Nix was out there making plays and scoring points. Plus, if the game were tied 10-10 like it should've been—if Sean Payton kicked the field goal—there was a real possibility that Nix could've turned the ball over late in the snow, too.

Hell, I was calling for Maye to fumble it in those four fourth quarter drives in the blizzard. To no avail.

But, it seems clear at this point that Denver would've won if Bo Nix played in the AFC Championship Game.

With Maye's shoulder injured, the offense became one-dimensional. The Pats ran it decently on Denver, but the Broncos were in it to the end with a backup quarterback giving New England it's only touchdown of the day.

Now, it's not just Broncos fans admitting it.

FOX Sports' Ralf Vacciano put the Denver Broncos atop his post-Super Bowl power rankings.

He wrote of the team:

Let’s be honest: The Patriots don’t get to the Super Bowl if QB Bo Nix doesn’t fracture his ankle one week earlier. He’ll be back with the NFL’s best coach (Sean Payton), a punishing defense, hopefully another receiver, and a battle-tested team that should be hard to beat.

Everyone called the Patriots frauds all season long, and when they got to the big stage of Super Bowl LX, they were exposed.

Yeah, they beat three teams in the playoffs to get there. But Justin Herbert was hurt and so was his line, C.J. Stroud went mental, and the Broncos started Jarrett Stidham in a pinch.

Maye is a good young quarterback, but he fumbled 7 times, losing 4 of them in the playoffs, and threw 4 interceptions in four postseason games.

I said it on Super Bowl Sunday, and I'm sure someone else realized this and wrote the article but: 10 years ago, Drake Maye was in San Francisco for Super Bowl 50 to root on the Panthers and his hero and NFL MVP Cam Newton, who had 2 fumbles including a fumble-6 in the loss to a great defense in the No Fly Zone.

In Super Bowl LX, Maye—who was nearly MVP—turned it over three times and was smothered by the Darkside defense. Denver sacked Newton 7 times to tie a Super Bowl record; Seattle sacked Maye 6 times.

Maye followed in the footsteps of his childhood hero. Sadly for him and the Pats.

Drake Maye wilted in the postseason. Rewind to the regular season, he led the NFL with a 113.2 passer rating. His 82.2 playoff rating would've put him at 36th behind Geno Smith.

Still, the kid has a bright future, just like Nix, Caleb Williams, and Jayden Daniels. The next group is coming on strong. And the Patriots proved this year they are a team to keep an eye on; they're not just a joke to ignore anymore.

But if Denver had Bo Nix, they would've won the AFC Championship Game.

That said, I think with Nix, they would've put up a better fight against the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. But Seattle may have been too much for Denver to overcome.

It's possible. But not likely given the way that Darkside defense played. They were aggressive, swarmed, and made the big plays when they needed to.

One interesting note about the Seahawks and Broncos; Seattle's defense gave up a second-fewest explosive plays this year (72), only Denver gave up fewer (70).

It's possible it would've been a low-scoring battle.

Guess we'll never know.

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