The Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots have a history dating back to 1959. The first game between the teams was played in Boston on Sept. 9, 1960. Denver won the game 13-10. However, the teams last met in Denver the following season. That game was won by Denver due to a Champ Bailey interception of Tom Brady in the south end zone. The next game between the teams occurred on Jan. 14, 2012, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. New England won this game 45-10.
There are also three other games between these two teams. Both of these were won by New England, with a score of 16-3 in 2016 versus 41-16 in 2017. In 2020, the Broncos won an 18-12 road game against the Patriots, and Drew Lock became the youngest QB in NFL history to beat Bill Belichick at Gillette Stadium. He also became the only quarterback to throw multiple interception against Bill Belichick in a road game.
Despite recent success by the Patriots, the Broncos have managed to keep the rivalry alive. The Broncos stopped a Patriots two-point conversion attempt in the 2017 AFC Championship Game. However, early in the game, the Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski missed an important extra point. Denver won the Super Bowl and the AFC Divisional playoffs.
With six minutes left in the first period, the Broncos’ offense had the ball in the red zone. The Patriots’ center Joe Thuney dropped the ball over Cam Newton’s head. The ball had to be picked at the Denver 34 yard line. The Patriots had to kick a field goal after that bad snap. The Patriots were down by 15-3 and were building momentum to regain the ball.
The Broncos are the first team to beat the Patriots since 1969. They lost to New England once and all three wins were won by Brian Griese, the Broncos’ quarterback. Denver has never lost to New England in their 16-year-long history. They had to win 32 consecutive seasons before they beat the Patriots in Denver. It was a classic game that brought the two teams together again.