The AFC’s top two seeds will meet in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday when No. 2 new England Patriots go to number 1 denver broncos.
This matchup marks the third time the franchises have squared off for a Super Bowl berth, and Denver has won four of the five postseason meetings.
The Broncos are starting backup quarterback. jarrett stidham after bo nix fragmented Sprained his ankle in the divisional round. According to ESPN Research, Stidham is just the second quarterback in NFL history to make his first start in a postseason game leading to a conference championship or beyond. On the other end, drake may Enters the season with 16 wins, the most by a first- or second-year quarterback.
This is the first playoff matchup between the two franchises since the 2015 AFC Championship Game, which pitted Tom Brady and Peyton Manning against each other for the final time. Brady had 310 passing yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, while Manning threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns. The Patriots had a chance to send the game to overtime, but the Broncos cornerbacked bradley robbie Brady blocked on 2-point conversion attempt to secure 20-18 Win in Denver.
Before Denver and New England meet again in the AFC title game, here’s a look back at sports and pop culture trends from the last time their spot in the Super Bowl was at stake: January 24, 2016.
Justin Bieber tops Billboard Hot 100
Justin Bieber’s November 2015 pop album “Purpose” sold more than one million copies and went triple platinum. It also contains three No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including a song that reached the top on January 23, 2016: “Sorry.”
The track debuted at number 2 one week earlier and spent a total of 42 weeks on the Hot 100, one of the longest charted tracks of his career. Bieber had two other songs in the top 10 that week, “Love Yourself” at number 3 and “What Do You Mean?” At number 8.
Other songs on the Billboard Hot 100 include Adele’s “Hello” at number 2, Drake’s “Hotline Bling” at number 4 and Twenty One Pilots’ “Stressed Out” at number 5.
NBA season full of memorable stories
The 2015-16 NBA season was in the spotlight Golden State Warriors 1995–96 going 73–9 Chicago Bulls’72-10 mark for the best in league history.
The Warriors started the season with 24 consecutive wins, their best start to an NBA campaign ever. When the Broncos and Patriots faced off, they had a 40–4 record and were riding an 11-game winning streak. Golden State would go on to the 2016 NBA Finals but lost in seven games. cleveland cavaliersBecame the first team to lose the finals after taking a 3–1 series lead.
On the other side of the NBA standings, Los Angeles Lakers The team was the worst in the Western Conference as franchise legend Kobe Bryant concluded the final season of his playing career. Bryant struggled throughout the season, averaging 17.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
However, Bryant dropped 60 points in his most notable performance in the final game of his career on April 13, 2016.
DiCaprio is getting closer to his first Oscar
Released in December 2015, “The Revenant” was the second highest-grossing film of all time, behind “Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens” the following month. Most notably, it included a breakout performance from star Leonardo DiCaprio.
By that point in his career, DiCaprio had been nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars four times, but had never won the honor. This changed with DiCaprio’s performance in “The Revenant”. called The toughest of his career.
This paid off, as he received a standing ovation when he won the Best Actor award at the 88th Academy Awards.
Yukon Women amid historical tension
After winning 90 consecutive games from 2008 to ’11, UConn women’s basketball peaked with 111 consecutive wins from 2014–2017. No other women’s basketball program has come close to the Huskies’ mark, which lasted 867 days and included 108 double-digit wins.
Won by defeating UConn on January 23, 2016 smu 90-37 This is the 55th consecutive win. The roster included eight future WNBA professionals: Breanna Stewart, Nafeesa Collier, Moriah Jefferson, Morgan Tuck, Katie Lu Samuelson, Kia Nurse, Gabby Williams, and Saniya Chong.
‘Hamilton’ is taking over Broadway
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s famous musical debuted on Broadway in July 2015 and has taken the stage by storm.
Miranda blends hip-hop, R&B, and traditional Broadway sounds to tell the story of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. it earnings of $3.3 million in one week in November 2016, according to The New York Times, the most money ever made in one week by a Broadway show. The production also became the first Broadway production to gross over $3 million in an eight-performance week.
A month after the Broncos defeated the Patriots, “Hamilton” won Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. In April 2016, Miranda get Pulitzer Prize for Drama. “Hamilton” also became the musical production with the most Tony nominations, with 16, winning 11 of them.
Serena shines in Australian Open
A chance to equal Steffi Graf’s record of 22 major wins, serena williams Was Defeated seeded by number 7 angelique kerber 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 for his first major title.
Williams suffered 46 unforced errors in her first defeat in a major final since the 2011 US Open. While reaching the final, he lost a total of 26 games, which was the lowest in his Grand Slam career. However, Williams later rebounded against Kerber and equaled Graf’s record by defeating her in the 2016 Wimbledon final.
