8 takeaways from Patriots' 10-7 AFC Championship win over Broncos

DENVER, Colorado — The New England Patriots are headed to the Super Bowl.

That's probably a sentence not many fans expected to be reading after back-to-back four-win seasons, but Mike Vrabel came in and changed it all. And with that, the Patriots have a chance to lift the Lombardi Trophy in two weeks.

It wasn't the prettiest performance, and it certainly wasn't their best game, but in the end, the Patriots did enough to defeat the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship.

So, with that, let's get into some takeaways from the Patriots' 10-7 victory.

1. Officials make a bad mistake, but Patriots still take advantage

The Broncos held a seven-point lead with little time remaining in the first half, but Jarrett Stidham made a costly mistake. The quarterback tried to run backwards, away from pressure, and lost control of the ball when he was hit by Christian Elliss. The officials initially ruled it as an incomplete pass, blowing the play dead early. However, Elijah Ponder was staying with the ball, scooping it up and running it into the end zone.

The officials ultimately reversed the call, but because the play was blown dead before Ponder got into the end zone, it gave New England the ball on the Broncos' 12-yard line. After a six-yard pass to Kayshon Boutte, Maye kept it himself and ran it in for a six-yard touchdown, tying the game at seven. This marked the only touchdown scored by New England in the game.

2. A no-good, very bad start for the Patriots

The Patriots' offense just couldn't get anything going, and at halftime, Maye had only thrown for 41 yards, completing seven of 14 pass attempts. The run game wasn't having much success either, as Stevenson had six carries for 17 total yards.

But, while the defense had its faults at times, they managed to get it together and kept the Patriots in the game, allowing for a three-point lead to decide the outcome.

3. Leonard Taylor saves the day

With just under five minutes remaining in the game, Wil Lutz lined up to attempt a 45-yard field goal that would tie the game at 10.

However, Leonard Taylor refused to let that happen, blocking the field goal.

4. Christian Gonzalez picks quite the time to get his first interception of the season

After Taylor's blocked field goal, the Patriots were unable to do anything offensively and ended up punting it right back to the Broncos, giving them three minutes to try and score. But Christian Gonzalez picked the right time to come away with a huge play, intercepting Stidham with 2:17 remaining in the fourth quarter. From there, the Patriots ran out the clock, forcing Denver to use all their timeouts. And then, they got one more first down, which sealed the deal and allowed them to get into victory formation.

5. Robert Spillane injury scare

In the first quarter, Robert Spillane made a nice tackle on Broncos running back RJ Harvey, knocking him down after he had gained only one yard. However, the linebacker stayed on the ground, taking off his helmet and slamming it down, indicating he suffered an injury that wasn't great. Spillane ultimately was able to walk off on his own and head straight into the blue medical tent. Shortly after, he emerged and walked into the locker room, being listed as questionable to return with an ankle injury.

He came out of the locker room in the second quarter, but didn't come back onto the field for a snap for the remainder of the game.

6. An 'interesting' tush push

The Patriots decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the 8-yard line instead of kicking a field goal. And with that, they brought in defensive tackles Milton Williams and Khyiris Tonga to help get Maye across the first down line.

It was hard to tell whether or not Maye truly crossed the line, but the call on the field was a first down, and despite the Broncos challenging the call, it stood. With that, the Patriots got the first down, but couldn't make anything happen. That's when they ultimately settled for a 23-yard field goal that marked the Patriots' final points of the game.

7. Two missed field goals to end the first half

With the game tied at seven, the Broncos got perfect field position after a punt from Bryce Baringer went only 41 yards. Stidham then was able to get them downfield, setting up a 54-yard field goal attempt from Wil Lutz, who missed it.

The Patriots then got the ball back with 24 seconds remaining and got them into field goal position with just one second remaining. Rookie Andy Borregales attempted a 63-yard field goal, but missed it.

8. What's Next?

Levi's Stadium!

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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: 8 takeaways from Patriots' 10-7 AFC Championship win over Broncos