Patriots reach the final: Patriots 10, Broncos 7

New England Patriots are through to the final. They took the AFC championship 10-7 against Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, CO.

Patriots finished the regular season 14-3 as the 2nd seed; Broncos were 14-3 and the 1st seed. On a night like this those numbers stop meaning very much after the first possession.

A one-score conference championship is decided by three or four snaps, and both coaching staffs will spend the week finding out which ones.

The schedule ahead offers no soft landings. Four of the next six come against teams that finished the season above .500, and two of them are on the road in hostile buildings.

Denver Broncos go home with a season that ended one game short. That is the cruellest place to finish, and it is also the clearest evidence a club is close.