All eyes are on Sam Darnold after he popped up on the injury report Thursday with an oblique injury. Darnold has said he's confident he'll be able to play through it, but he is officially listed as questionable. If he's unable to go, backup Drew Lock would be thrust into the starting role for this playoff matchup.

San Francisco 49ers legendary QB John Brodie, a franchise Hall of Famer and 1970 NFL MVP award winner, died on Friday at the age of 90.  NFL.com's Eric Edholm breaks down three must-know storylines for when the New England Patriots play the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.

New England Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane was a full participant in practice on Thursday as he's been dealing with an ankle injury. OT/TE Thayer Munford Jr. was a non-participant in practice on Thursday. Center Garrett Bradbury and tackle Vederian Lowe were both out due to illness.

Jarrett Stidham will start for Denver in place of Bo Nix in the AFC Championship Game

Star tight end George Kittle had his season ended earlier than expected after suffering an Achilles injury during the 2025 NFL Playoff against the Philadelphia Eagles. That injury isn't preventing Kittle from enjoying his second sports love though;

The San Francisco 49ers had the worst injury issues of all the NFL playoff teams in 2026. One analytics site calculated their total points lost.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold wasn't able to "let it rip" during practices, but will play against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. Darnold will reportedly get the start despite dealing with an oblique injury, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.