The New England Patriots had to survive a brutal road environment and a snowstorm to reach Super Bowl LX last season.
It turns out their AFC Championship Game could have carried an even more improbable storyline.
Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees considered coming out of retirement to play for the Denver Broncos against New England, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Denver ultimately started Jarrett Stidham in place of an injured Bo Nix, and the Patriots escaped Empower Field at Mile High with a 10-7 victory on Jan. 25.
Assuming Brees’ body cooperated, however, New England might have entered that championship game preparing for one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in NFL history.
Brees Seriously Considered Broncos Comeback Before Patriots Game
The possibility went farther than a casual hypothetical.
Nix fractured his ankle during Denver’s overtime divisional-round win over the Buffalo Bills. Schefter reported that then-offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive assistant Pete Carmichael subsequently spoke with Brees about potentially getting ready for the Patriots.
Brees, who had turned 47 two days before Nix’s injury, wanted to test himself physically before making a decision. The longtime New Orleans Saints star worked out, but discomfort in his wrist ultimately ended the idea.
The Broncos’ interest apparently would have been legitimate if Brees had passed that test.
One Denver source told ESPN that Brees would have been “1A or 1B” in the quarterback discussion, adding that Brees believed, “I know how to win a game like that.”
Head coach Sean Payton didn’t initially know his assistants had contacted his former quarterback, per the report. Had Brees decided he could play, Denver was prepared to sign him and determine whether he was a better option than Stidham.
Brees had retired following the 2020 season and had gone five years without playing an NFL snap. Yet his familiarity with Payton’s offense, Lombardi and Carmichael would have given Denver a path toward getting him ready on extraordinarily short notice.
Patriots Defense Instead Overwhelmed Jarrett Stidham
New England never had to find out what the alternative looked like.
Stidham completed 17 of 31 passes for 133 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the AFC title game. He also lost a fumble that handed the Patriots possession deep in Denver territory, eventually leading to Drake Maye scoring New England’s only touchdown.
The Patriots particularly gave Stidham problems when they turned up the pressure.
NFL.com reported that he completed only one of 10 passes under pressure for four yards, with an interception. New England also sacked him three times and limited Denver to four first downs over its final eight possessions.
Milton Williams and Elijah Ponder each generated four pressures, according to NFL Pro data cited by NFL.com. The Patriots held Denver to 32 yards over five second-half possessions as the weather deteriorated.
New England still needed nearly everything it had to survive. Maye finished with only 86 passing yards but rushed for 65, including the game-tying touchdown and a late third-down conversion that effectively secured the trip to Super Bowl LX.
Seven months later, we realize Denver came surprisingly close to fielding a 47-year-old future Hall of Famer.
Patriots Nearly Faced 47-Year-Old Hall of Fame QB in AFC Championship Game vs. Broncos