4 under-the-radar factors for Broncos fans to watch for in AFC Championship Game

The Denver Broncos will host the New England Patriots on Sunday with a trip to Super Bowl LX on the line. 

There will be plenty of storylines that dominate the headlines. The Broncos will be turning to backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham following the devastating broken ankle that Bo Nix suffered in last week's victory over the Buffalo Bills. 

For the Patriots, second-year quarterback Drake Maye is looking to get the Patriots back to the Super Bowl for the first time in the post-Tom Brady era. Maye has been in the conversation for league MVP all season. 

These two teams have played in some classic matchups in the past and the Broncos have had to beat the Patriots the last two times they have gone to the Super Bowl. In addition, the Patriots have never won a postseason game in Denver. 

Those are some of the things that will be talked about a lot before, during and after Sunday's game. Here are some key factors to this game from Denver's perspective.

Broncos fans should watch for these under-the-radar factors vs. Patriots

Patriots picking on Riley Moss

This is going to happen, it's just a matter of how many times New England attempts to do it. 

The Patriots are going to try to get Riley Moss on an island in this game against one of their talented wide receivers and Maye is going to attack him, looking for a big play or a pass interference call, a category in which Moss led the league this season. 

But Moss had a great response to being asked about this, acknowledging that he knows it's coming. 

The center position

The Broncos have activated Luke Wattenberg from injured reserve and he will play in this game, moving Alex Forsyth back to the bench. Wattenberg is a better player than Forsyth, but how will the connection between him and Stidham be?

As the backup, Stidham has likely worked with Forsyth in practice for most of this season. Wattenberg has spent the last several weeks on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, so he and Stidham have had very little time to get ready for this game together. 

As silly as it may sound, the center-quarterback exchange can be crucial, even if it goes mostly unnoticed, as it's something that is just expected to be executed flawlessly on every play. It could be a factor in this one and it is certainly worth monitoring.

Broncos on first down

The Broncos need to run the ball much more in this game than they did against Buffalo. In fact, establishing the run is probably the biggest key to victory in this game. However, Sean Payton should not just predictably run the ball on every first down to take pressure off Stidham. 

Instead, he should do the exact opposite and mix things up to keep the New England defense guessing. Stidham needs to run some play-action and bootleg plays in this game to see if the passing game can be opened up. The Broncos need to use the passing game to set up the run in this one. 

Trick plays

Payton should consider a gadget play, maybe even two, in this game. Though Josh McDaniels may know Stidham's capabilities even better than he does, Payton knows what he has in his playbook and this is the area where having to go to a backup quarterback could be used as an advantage. 

READ: Broncos' similarities between last Super Bowl appearance and this year are astonishing

Payton may have some plays that he might not have called with Nix that could now be something he could entertain with Stidham. The Patriots are going to be expecting a careful approach where the Broncos get Stidham to manage the game, or in other words, not lose the game. Instead, Payton, who once had the guts to call a surprise onside kick in the Super Bowl, could take a shot with Stidham on a trick play, preferably one no one has seen since he's been in Denver. 

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