Tony Romo
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback on CBS

We know Stidham can stand in the pocket and throw. He's shown he can in the past. I expect Mike Vrabel to get after him hard and early.

I think Stidham should throw the ball on early downs - not get into third and longs.

Denver have to punt it away as Jarrett Stidham has the throw the ball away on the run with pressure on him. So his first pass attempt, if you'd call it that, in 749 days is just a heave into the crowd.

Great punt though to pin New England back.

Jarrett Stidham starts the game with ball in hand, penny for his thoughts right now!

It's just a hand-off to RJ Harvey for a yard.

We've had the anthems, the coin toss and now the bal is in the air and the AFC Championship is up and running!

A first AFC Championship match in Denver in a decade and it will be back-up quarterback Jarrett Stidham taking to the field for the Broncos.

Can he deliver one of the biggest upsets in recent memory to lead his side to Super Bowl 60?

Or do you think the unfortunate injury to Bo Nix means the AFC Championship now looks destined to be heading back to New England with the Patriots?

One thing is for sure, both defences have likely come to play tonight.

Send in your thoughts by clicking the contact form at the top of this page.

So who have you got at Mile High tonight?

Every AFC Championship game since the 2011 season has featured either the New England Patriots or the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Patriots reached eight in a row - the final one of which was like a passing of the torch to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, who then made seven on the spin.

Now, everyone's favourite NFL bad guys are back in the big game, but are they building another dynasty?

For all the talk of Jarrett Stidham, this game could be won and lost in the trenches, as so many are - and there's a worrying stat for Drake Maye and his vulnerable offensive line.

Denver lead the league with 71 sacks this season while the Patriots gave up 58 on Maye - that's the biggest combination of sacks in any play-off game in NFL history.

And that spells trouble for New England with such a mismatch in such a crucial area, as we've seen big games won by defences beating up on quarterbacks before - Patrick Mahomes has lost two Super Bowl thanks to his offensive line being bullied by Tampa Bay and Philadelphia.

And of the next three highest sack totals in play-off games, the dominant defence won the lot, will that be the same again?

Yes, there are some! Despite not playing for two years or not throwing a pass in the NFL in 749 days, our crack video team has pulled out some Jerrtt Stidham highlghts from pre-season.

And he looks pretty good...

Why is Jarrett Stidham starting such big news? Well firstly he's just the second quarterback in Super Bowl times to make his first start of the season in a Conference Championship game.

The other was Roger Staubach in 1972 and there's a huge difference as, after all, that was Roger Staubach who'd just come off a Super Bowl, and who did play a bit that season.

This is Jarrett Stidham, who has seen just four plays of action this season and hasn't started for two years! And 749 days after his last NFL pass attempt he'll now try and make a Super Bowl.

This is unchartered territory.

Image source, Getty Images

The Broncos are having to take on the Patriots without their number one quarterback, with Bo Nix breaking his ankle last week.

But there was another blow with the news that top running back JK Dobbins will not be fit for the game.

There was hope that the former Ravens RB, who still leads the team in carries (153) and yards (772) despite not playing since the start of November, would make it back in time for tonight's game.

Denver will have to lean on rookie RJ Harvey and Jaleel McLaughlin.

Both the Broncos and Patriots finished on the same 14-3 record this season but this AFC title game is in Denver due to their better record against common opponents.

That's because the Patriots lost in week one to the Las Vegas Raiders - who finished officially as the worst team in the league thanks to the tiebreakers with a 3-14 record.

So Denver bagged the top seed and home advantage, which is always huge in the play-offs, all thanks to their divisional rivals!

Should the Pats win tonight, they'd be just the third team ever to make the Super Bowl having lost to the team that claimed the first pick of the draft for finishing bottom of the standings.

Image source, Getty Images

The Patriots started the season by losing to the Raiders - how about that! From a 1-2 start they won 10 in a row and 13 in 14, yes the schedule wasn't the toughest but you can only beat what's in front of you.

And in the play-offs they've already shown why they deserve to be here, with a stifling defence and Drake Maye making big plays in big moments.

Denver also won 13 of 14 after a 1-2 start with just one puzzling defeat against the Jaguars spoiling that run, but it was enough to earn them the top seed.

Then came that incredible game against Buffalo, which could've gone either way in the end but the Broncos have been stone cold killers in tight games with 12 one-score wins.

They're without Bo Nix but still have that pass rush. Who wins this one?

This really is an incredible story. Not just the lack of action Jarrett Stidham has seen, but the links with the Patriots as well just make this so fascinating.

Drafted by New England, learning off Tom Brady, and also coached by current Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels twice - once at Foxborough and one while head coach of the Raiders.

Sean Payton loves him, and was one of his first free agency signings when arriving in Denver - and he also signed a big contract in the summer that pays him about the same base salary as Bo Nix!

He couldn't could he?

Sean Payton is full of confidence in Jarrett Stidaham - and the back-up is talking a good game as well.

Can he upset the odds tonight?

Image source, Getty Images

Jarrett Stidham is making history today as the first quarterback ever to start a Championship game without throwing single pass this season - he's not thrown one for two years!

He's also the first quarterback with fewer than five NFL starts under his belt to start this game, with just four in his career so far.

Six other quarterbacks have made their first start of the season in the play-offs with only Buffalo's Frank Reich managing to win (and what a win that was in their epic comeback over Houston).

Other QBs have been more inexperienced that Stidham with Minnesota's Joe Webb starting just three games before his play-off bow while Taylor Heinicke made just one before starting for Washington.

And how about the Raiders' Connor Cook who made his one and only NFL start in the play-offs! None of them played for a place in the Super Bowl though...

So who will make it through to Super Bowl 60?

Read our expert panel's verdicts on tonight's two huge Championship games and also make your picks.

NFL play-off predictions - Championship Sunday.

First up tonight we have the New England Patriots heading to Denver to face the Broncos and their back-up quarterback Jarrett Stidham.

Denver's pass rush will be the big threat against New England's troubled offensive line, with Drake Maye needing to pass yet another huge test to get the Patriots to a 12th Super Bowl.

The Broncos have been great at home and Sean McVay is looking to get back to the Super Bowl with a second team having previously won with the Saints, but can he pull enough coaching rabbits out of the hat?

Mike Vrabel's defence has been every bit as good as the hosts in their play-off run, stifling the Chargers and Texans to power through to this AFC title game.

It's a repeat of the AFC title of a decade ago, when Payton Manning beat Tom Brady and the Broncos made it through to Super Bowl 50 - and won!

Oh, and that year it was held at Levi's Stadium as well, if you believe in omens...

We're down to the final four, but who'll make the Super Bowl? Watch our Championship game special from The Whole 10 Yards crew.