Denver, Colo. – The Patriots are back in the Super Bowl after defeating the Broncos in a 10-7 victory at a wintry Empower Field at Mile High on championship Sunday.

The old saying goes that defense wins championships. In January, the weather around gets nasty: it snows, it's cold, the wind swirls. As the snow began to pile up at Empower Field, the Patriots defense continued its dominant playoff run, spearheading New England to Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara in two weeks. For a team that built a 14-3 regular-season record on the back of an MVP-caliber year for QB Drake Maye, the Patriots are going to their 12th Super Bowl in franchise history due to their defense. In three playoff games, New England's defense allowed 26 points, shutting down the Chargers, Texans, and Broncos offenses to get through the AFC. Although the job isn't done, it has been a job well done on the defensive side.

As for how the game unfolded, there were a few critical swings when the Broncos came out firing. With a 7-0 lead, Denver elected to go for a 4th-and-1 on the NE 14 rather than kicking a field goal. The Pats defense came up with a stop there and created a turnover that set up the Patriots lone touchdown. Denver also had an opportunity to kick a game-tying field goal, but the 46-yard attempt was blocked by practice-squad DT Leonard Taylor. Offensively, there will be plenty to nitpick. The Patriots had four possessions while leading by three points where they could've taken a two-score lead, but went missed field goal, punt, punt, and punt.

Obviously, today is about celebrating this team's accomplishments, but to win the Super Bowl in two weeks, they'll need better from the offense than what they've gotten this postseason. For now, the road warriors finally got the playoff monkey off their back in Denver to finish the season 9-0 on the road and are the first team in NFL history to go from 13+ losses the year prior to the Super Bowl. Yes, the Patriots are officially back.

"The history and everything about it, it's a new team. It's a new era. I respect and appreciate what the Patriots dynasty did and unfortunately they didn't come out with some wins [in Denver]. We changed the narrative and we look forward to bringing our best football to Santa Clara," Maye said.

Here are eight takeaways from the Patriots victory over the Broncos to reach Super Bowl LX.

1. Play of the Game: DT Leonard Taylor III Blocks Broncos 46-Yard Field Goal Attempt in Fourth Quarter

With the Patriots holding a three-point lead in the fourth quarter, the defense stepped up once again when New England punted out of its own end zone out to their own 33-yard line.

The Patriots stellar defense quickly forced a three-and-out, with NT Khyiris Tonga registering a tackle for loss, an incomplete pass on second down, and a third-down stop on a QB Jarrett Stidham scramble. New England forced a 46-yard field goal attempt, which wasn't a gimmie in the snowy conditions, but it would've tied the game at 10 apiece with 4:46 left in the game. Instead, practice-squad elevation Leonard Taylor III got his big right hand on the ball to force it wide.

"We just lined up and knocked the man in front of us over. Just take his face off, for real. Just make plays," Taylor said after the game. "At the end of the day, I just go in there and do what I'm supposed to do."

Taylor's story is representative of the Patriots entire season. Taylor was released by the Jets in mid-October and signed to the Pats practice squad almost immediately. Taylor then carved out a role with New England as a practice-squad elevation for all three playoff games so far: We all we got. We all wee need. Personified.

Honorable Mention: CB Christian Gonzalez Seals the Win with Fourth-Quarter Interception

In a major playoff win like this, there are obviously multiple plays that led to the win. In another play symbolic of the Patriots season, one of their best players, CB Christian Gonzalez, made a Pro Bowl-caliber play when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter.

With the Patriots holding a 10-7 lead late in the fourth quarter, Gonzalez made up for an early miscue when he intercepted a Stidham deep pass intended for WR Marvin Mims. The Pats defense rotated into man-free coverage (single-high safety) with Gonzalez playing off the speedy wideout. Stidham tried to throw a 30-yard pass through the Denver snow and wind, and Gonzalez read it perfectly with eyes in the backfield to pick off the pass. The interception gave the Patriots the ball back with 2:11 left in the game and they never gave it back.

"Six or eight weeks ago, I can't remember when, but I saw a different Gonzo. Something went off and it changed. Maybe the Ravens game or something. I noticed just a different player and a different person. He's so talented," said Vrabel.

Like his predecessor as the Patriots lockdown corner, Gonzalez now has his Stephon Gilmore moment, with the two interceptions being very similar and now etched in Patriots history.

2. Patriots D-Line Dominates Matchup vs. Broncos Highly Rankled O-Line in Victory

Another theme from the Patriots post-game locker room was the defensive line using all the praise for the Broncos offensive line as motivation.

Some pundits said Denver had the best offensive line in football, with two first-team All-Pros at left tackle (Garrett Bolles) and right guard (Quinn Meinerz). On Sunday, the Pats defense continued to control the line of scrimmage and that'll travel with them to Santa Clara. New England's defense pressured Stidham on 35.1% of his drop-backs and held the Broncos offense to -0.19 EPA per rush. To win with their backup quarterback, the Broncos needed balance, and Stidham was forced to drop back 37 times.

"Coach Clint [McMillan] was telling us they were the No. 1 rated offensive line. People were saying they were going to run the ball and stuff. We came in ready," Christian Barmore said. "I feel like we have the best D-Line in the league. We have a top defense."

When the Patriots were able to pressure Stidham, he was just 1-for-10 for four yards with two turnovers. Along with Gonzalez's interception at the end, the Pats defense got Stidham to panic when they sent an overload blitz, which set up New England's lone touchdown drive.

In the play, New England played the down in man-free coverage, meaning man-to-man with a single-high safety. In the pass rush, the Pats overload the right side of the offensive line, adding S Jaylinn Hawkins and LB Christian Elliss into the rush. Without an immediate outlet, Stidham goes into panic mode. The play was ruled a backward pass and a fumble recovery for the Patriots at the DEN 12. Two plays later, Maye rushed for a touchdown to tie the game.

Along with pressuring Stidham into mistakes, Barmore also logged a huge sack on Meinerz, one of three sacks of the Broncos quarterback in the game. The other key pressure came on the Patriots fourth-down stop, where the Broncos left DT Milton Williams unblocked on a bootleg.

This time, Denver ran a pick-flat play with Stidham rolling to his right and RB R.J. Harvey releasing into the flat. On the inside, DTs Milton Williams and Cory Durden broke through the line unblocked, while S Craig Woodson read the play perfectly to fall off the pick player (LJ Humphrey) and connect to Harvey. The combination of the pressure and Woodson's coverage gave Stidham zero options to move the chains.

After hearing about the Texans defense last week and the Broncos offensive line this week, the Patriots are headed to the Super Bowl because they dominated the line of scrimmage defensively.

3. Although the Passing Game Struggled, QB Drake Maye's Mobility Comes in Clutch

Admittedly, this wasn't the best performance for the Patriots offense and their star quarterback against an impressive Broncos defense on Sunday.

Denver's defense deserves credit, the conditions were poor, and Maye was turnover-free to win the turnover battle (2-0), which was huge. However, the Pats QB finished 10-of-21 for 86 passing yards and -0.32 EPA per drop-back. Besides playing a good defense, the main reasons the pass offense struggled were some uncharacteristic misses by Maye in the poor conditions and a handful of coverage sacks where Maye didn't see any open receivers (five sacks). Having said that, Maye making plays as a runner was a huge reason why the Patriots won the game.

Starting in the first half, the Patriots QB scored his first postseason rushing touchdown after taking over at the Broncos 12-yard line off a turnover. Patriots OC Josh McDaniels called a perfectly timed QB draw, with Maye faking like he was dropping back to pass as C Garrett Bradbury and RB Rhamondre Stevenson released upfield. Bradbury blocks the linebacker and Stevenson takes care of the safety at the second level, leading Maye in for a walk-in touchdown to tie the game.

New England then iced the game with Maye calling his own number on a naked bootleg off their stretch runs. The Pats had been spamming stretch or outside zone handoffs in the second half, so the Pats QB waited for the right time to run the keeper to put the Patriots in victory formation.

In the play, the Patriots went heavy with only one wide receiver on the field in their six offensive line package, showing run to the defense. New England then mimics the stretch play to get the Broncos defense flowing to the right and Maye keeps it back to his left. The Pats QB outran Broncos LB Jonah Elliss to the edge and moved the chains to kneel out the clock.

Although the Patriots will need more from their passing offense to win the Super Bowl, Maye continued to make a few more plays than the opposing quarterback in defensive battles.

4. Patriots Stick to Sides in Coverage Against the Broncos Receivers

Along with being down their starting quarterback, the Broncos were also down two of their top three receivers, with WR Troy Franklin (hamstring) inactive and WR Pat Bryant getting hurt during the game. While facing a backup quarterback, the Patriots turned up the man coverage rate even more, playing man-to-man against Denver on 48.6% of its drop-backs (15 total).

In man coverage, the Patriots defense was dominant, holding the Broncos QB to 6-of-15 for 36 passing yards and two turnovers. Between the tight man coverage and pressure, New England's defense controlled the game. However, the one big play the Broncos had in the game was against one of the Patriots zone coverages (quarters).

In the play, the Broncos ran a backside vertical route on the other side of the dagger concept (seam-dig). It appears that New England was in palms coverage (quarters), where the backside safety has eyes inside to take any crossing routes from the other side of the formation. The coverage left Gonzalez 1-on-1 with Mims, who can fly, and Mims ran by the Pats Pro Bowler for a 52-yard completion that set up the Broncos only points in the game.

Overall, the Patriots coverage suffocated a shorthanded Broncos skill group, continuing a theme during these playoffs of New England's strength showing out in the postseason.

5. Patriots Offensive Line Challenged by Broncos Standout Defensive Line

Although some of the sacks were on good coverage and Maye holding the ball, Denver's defense mostly controlled the line of scrimmage in the run and pass game as well on Sunday.

According to NextGen Stats, Maye was under pressure on 37.9% of his drop-backs to go along with five sacks. Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson did manage six successful runs and New England's rushing totals were inflated by Maye's 65 rushing yards. However, it was tough sledding for the most part, with rookie LT Will Campbell allowing five total pressures in his matchup vs. Pro Bowl edge rusher Nik Bonitto. RT Morgan Moses also allowed a sack to Broncos EDGE Jonathan Cooper, so that's where most of the pressure came from in the game.

As always, we'll have to watch the film to see if the high sack and pressure rate was on Maye, the line, receiver separation, or all of the above. But it was that kind of game for both O-Lines.

6. RB Rhamondre Stevenson Leads Pats Backfield with Hefty Workload vs. Broncos

With the Patriots running back on a tear lately, New England leaned all the way into Stevenson being their lead-back on Sunday. Stevenson played 60 of the Patriots 64 offensive plays, with rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson only getting four snaps with three carries in the game. Stevenson deserves credit for grinding out some difficult yards and for his ball security in the second half. He had a rushing long of 12 yards, with the Pats majoring in duo (double teams) and outside zone runs. Stevenson's bounce back from early-season struggles with fumbles has been an outstanding story and the Patriots leaned on him heavily in Sunday's win.

7. WR Mack Hollins Returns to the Lineup and Makes Biggest Pass Play of the Game

After missing the last four games due to an abdominal injury, the veteran wideout returned to the lineup and played 39 snaps in the game, second only to WR Kayshon Boutte (40 snaps). Hollins' return sparked the Patriots biggest play from scrimmage in the game, with the Pats running a flea-flicker for a 31-yard gain in the third quarter.

On the play, the Patriots sell run with their personnel (six OL) and run formation. Hollins sells the block well to get the Broncos defense sucked in before releasing upfield. It was Maye's best throw of the day as well, putting enough air on the ball to get it over LB Dre Greenlaw while Hollins ran away from Broncos CB Riley Moss for the big play. Unfortunately, the Patriots drive ended without points, but it was promising to see Hollins back in the mix.

8. Patriots Special Teams Battle the Elements at Mile High on Sunday

The Patriots specialists had to battle some difficult conditions in the snow and wind, with P Bryce Baringer fighting the elements all afternoon. Baringer only had 33-yard and 26-yard punts, but did keep the ball away from explosive return-man Marvin Mms. Rookie K Andy Borregales also missed field goals of 46 and 63 yards. Obviously, we won't hold the 63-yarder against Borreglaes, and the conditions really were a factor for both teams' specialists.

Before the Patriots turn the page to Super Bowl LX, let's take some time to appreciate the unbelievable run that head coach Mike Vrabel's team is on this season. Vrabel has completely flipped the script from the previous two seasons, taking a team that had back-to-back four-win seasons to one win away from a championship.

After writing how impressive that is all season long, we've run out of ways to say it other than to say this: the Patriots are headed back to the Super Bowl.

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer