Tom E. Curran, Ted Johnson and Michael Holley offer instant reaction following the New England Patriots’ 26-23 win over the Denver Broncos on Christmas Eve.
The New England Patriots defied the odds -- literally, they were 7-point underdogs -- Sunday night and upset the Denver Broncos with a 26-23 win on the road.
The Broncos led this game 7-3 at halftime. It looked like we were headed for a snoozefest. But that's the opposite of what transpired in the second half. The Patriots scored 20 consecutive points in the third quarter and entered the fourth quarter with a 23-7 lead. The Broncos then scored 16 unanswered in the fourth quarter to tie the score.
But the Patriots responded by driving into Broncos territory in the final minute of regulation, giving rookie kicker Chad Ryland a 56-yard field goal attempt for the win. He nailed it.
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The Patriots improved to 4-11 with the victory. They slid from the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to the No. 4 pick as a result (more on that below).
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The Patriots will travel to Buffalo to play the Bills in Week 17 for their final road game of the season. But before we look ahead to that matchup, here are five takeaways from Patriots-Broncos.
Patriots fall to No. 4 pick in the draft
This win could end up hurting the Patriots' ability to rebuild their roster with a top quarterback prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Patriots entered Week 16 owning the No. 2 overall pick, but as a result of Sunday's win, they have slid two spots to the No. 4 spot.
Here's the updated top four of the first round:
4. New England Patriots, 4-11
3. Washington Commanders, 4-11
2. Arizona Cardinals, 3-12
1. Chicago Bears (via Carolina Panthers, 2-13)
The Patriots are tied with the Washington Commanders for the third-worst record at 4-11. But the Commanders are in the No. 3 pick slot because they have a worse strength of schedule than the Patriots (.493 to .525), and that's the first tiebreaker. The Commanders end the season with games against the Cowboys (10-5) and 49ers (11-3), so they're unlikely to win another game. The Cardinals finish with the Eagles (10-4) and Seahawks (8-7), so they aren't likely to win again, either.
If the Patriots finish the season with the No. 4 pick, they might not be able to draft any of the top three QB prospects -- USC's Caleb Williams, UNC's Drake Maye and LSU's Jayden Daniels. So it's not unfair to say that Sunday's win could be quite costly for New England.
The Patriots could even fall as far as the No. 7 pick if they earn a fifth win. That would be a really bad scenario for New England.
Crazy third quarter propels Patriots to win
The Patriots entered Sunday with just 26 points scored in the third quarter through their first 14 games. That's an average of just 1.9 third-quarter points per game. They scored 20 in the third quarter against the Broncos, which represents a season-high for New England in a single quarter.
The Patriots took their first lead of the game when Bailey Zappe hit running back Ezekiel Elliott for a 15-yard touchdown. Elliott hurdled a Broncos defender on his way to the end zone.
A few possessions later, Zappe moved the ball with a couple great throws, including a 30-yard strike to DeVante Parker despite good coverage from Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain.
Four plays later, Zappe converted a third-and-11 with a touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki to give the Patriots a double-digit advantage.
Turnovers played a huge role in the outcome of this game, and the Broncos coughed up the football at the worst time on the ensuing kickoff. Marvin Mims, who is one of the best kick returners in the league, lost control of the ball and the Patriots recovered in the end zone for a special teams score and a stunning 23-7 lead.
The Patriots struggled mightily in the second half against the Steelers and Chiefs over the last two weeks, scoring just eight points combined in those third and fourth quarters. They had no such issues against the Broncos.
Christian Barmore was a one-man wrecking crew
The Broncos had absolutely no answer for Patriots defensive lineman Christian Barmore. The University of Alabama product helped keep the Broncos out of the end zone during a fourth-and-goal play on Denver's first offensive drive of the game.
Barmore led the Patriots with eight tackles, three sacks and four QB hits. All three of his sacks came in the third quarter, giving him a team-leading 8.5 for the season.
Barmore is eligible for an extension in the offseason. Given how well he's performed in 2023 -- you can make a case he's been the team's best player and deserves All Pro consideration -- it would make sense for the Patriots to sign him to a new contract ASAP.
Bailey Zappe gives his best performance of 2023
Zappe played his best game of the season Sunday. He was very accurate with 25 completions on 33 pass attempts for 256 yards, and most importantly, he didn't throw an interception. He did lose a fumble on the first possession of the game, but we didn't see any back-breaking mistakes from Zappe.
The second-year quarterback also threw two touchdown passes -- one to Elliott and another to Gesicki -- in the third quarter.
Zappe did a tremendous job on the Patriots' final drive to get them into field goal range for the winning score. He went 3-of-3 for 36 yards, including a 27-yard strike to Parker.
The Patriots are now 2-2 since Zappe took over for Mac Jones as the starting QB beginning in Week 13. Zappe has thrown six touchdown passes and two interceptions, while completing over 65 percent of his passes as the starter.
It all begs the question: Why did Bill Belichick wait so long to move on from Jones? If the Patriots had turned to Zappe sooner, maybe their season would not have spiraled out of control in November and early December.
Chad Ryland bounces back and plays role of hero
Rookie kicker Chad Ryland was having the worst game of his life, but in a curious twist of fate, he ended up being the hero.
After hitting a 33-yard field goal in the first quarter, he missed wide left on a 47-yard attempt in the second quarter. Bill Belichick was visibly frustrated on the sideline when the NFL Network cameras showed his reaction to the Ryland miss. The University of Maryland product also missed an extra point in the third quarter.
When the Broncos tied the game with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, it looked like Ryland's missed extra point was going to cost the Patriots a victory.
But Ryland redeemed himself late in the fourth quarter. Zappe led the Patriots down to the Broncos' 38-yard line with seven seconds remaining, setting up a 56-yard field goal attempt for Ryland with the game on the line.
He nailed it, right down the middle, to secure a 26-23 win.
Ryland has hit 14 of his 22 field goal attempts this season. Those eight misses are the most of any kicker. His 63.6 percent success rate on field goals ranks dead last among the 36 kickers who have attempted at least one field goal this season.
But Ryland deserves credit for maintaining his poise and hitting a very tough field goal in a stadium that presents plenty of challenges for kickers given the cold temperatures, wind and elevation.
