Special Edition: Championship Sunday, loading

The GIST: The Broncos and Patriots have historically been AFC powerhouses, but it’s been a minute — over a decade for Denver and seven years for New England — since either franchise reached the promised land. Only one can end their Super Bowl appearance drought.

🐴 Broncos down, but not out: Losing your franchise QB a week before the Conference Championship certainly isn’t ideal, but as Nix said, this team is resilient. Their Divisional Round victory over the Buffalo Bills marked their 13th comeback win of the season and their sixth while trailing in the fourth quarter. Adversity hates to see this crew coming.

• But there’s an elephant in the room: Backup QB Jarrett Stidham hasn’t thrown a regular-season pass in 749 days — lucky for him, the Broncos boast one of the best offensive lines in football, which should give Stidham extra time to shake off the rust.

❤️ Passing game key for Patriots: QB Drake Maye is an MVP candidate for a reason, and while his six fumbles and 10 sacks in two playoff games is cause for concern, he still helms one of the best passing offenses in the NFL. That prowess was on full display in the Divisional Round, where Maye tossed absolute dimes against the league’s best defense in the Houston Texans.

• On the flip side, the Pats’ defense, led by fearsome defensive tackle Milton Williams, will need to make Stidham uncomfortable. And they’ll have the inside scoop to help them out: Stidham was a backup in New England for two years.

📍 The bottom line: Starting a backup QB in the biggest game of the season is a major disadvantage, and it’s a big reason the Broncos are underdogs at home. The Patriots should win this one, but stranger things have happened on the Mile High gridiron.

The GIST: The NFC West has been a gauntlet all season, so it’s no surprise these divisional foes are the last two left standing on Championship Sunday.

💚 Seahawks field most complete team: And they’re peaking at the right time. The special teams unit scored on the opening kickoff in their Divisional Round win, while the defense allows the league’s fewest points per game. But that’s not all: The offense is humming with running back (RB) Kenneth Walker III, aka the Rams’ kryptonite, and All-Pro wide receiver (WR) Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

• The biggest question mark? QB Sam Darnold. He’s notably battling through an oblique injury, but after an MVP–caliber start, Darnold’s been the 27th-ranked signal caller since Week 11, when he coincidentally faced the Rams for the first time.

🐏 Battle-tested Rams thrive down the stretch: The head coach Sean McVay–led squad has mounted two late playoff comebacks…and on the road, no less. Those Ws are due in large part to their playmakers, namely WRs Puka Nacua and Davante Adams and RB Kyren Williams, who have all been clutch when it mattered most.

• Plus, the Rams have a serious advantage at the game’s most important position: QB. Though Stafford wasn’t his best self in the Divisional Round, he’s an MVP candidate who threw a whopping 46 touchdowns during the regular season.

📍 The bottom line: The Seahawks and Rams split their two regular-season meetings with the tilts decided by a mere three points combined. Buckle up for a spicy back-and-forth affair — the stakes have truly never been higher.