The New England Patriots are facing a challenging AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos, with a key player ruled out and several others questionable. The team's defensive captain, Harold Landry III, will not be suiting up due to a lingering knee injury, marking his absence from three consecutive practices. Landry, an outside linebacker, had an impressive regular season, leading the Patriots with 8.5 sacks and 19 quarterback hits, and sharing the team lead with 10 tackles for loss. However, his knee injury has been a persistent issue since the fall, and he only played 11 out of 75 defensive snaps in the divisional round, carrying a questionable game designation.
The Patriots' injury report also includes wide receiver Mack Hollins, inside linebacker Marte Mapu, and cornerback Carlton Davis III as questionable. Hollins, who has been on injured reserve due to an abdomen injury, missed four games before joining the limited participants. He leads the depth chart in offensive snaps with 46 receptions for 550 yards and two touchdowns. Mapu, who has been sidelined with a hip issue, returned for New England's in-stadium practice and has handled 32 snaps in the kicking game since the start of the postseason. Davis, who entered the NFL's concussion protocol after intercepting the first two passes of his stay last weekend, shed the red non-contact jersey on Friday after being a limited participant for back-to-back practices.
The Broncos' injury report remains TBA. The conference's No. 2 seed currently stands with a full 53-man roster, and along with Hollins, running back Terrell Jennings and defensive tackle Joshua Farmer await potential activations from injured reserve. The deadline for AFC Championship Game transactions is set for Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, adding further intrigue to the already intense match-up.
