By KEVIN DEVLIN

The American Football Conference Championship Game to be held Sunday in Denver is on everyone’s minds in Patriot Nation. Will our heroes prevail or lose to the dreaded Denver Broncos? Here’s what Southie residents think about this classic NFL matchup.

  • “The Pat’s won’t lose to the Broncos. ‘Goodell’s Zebras’ might beat the Pats in Denver because Goodell would rather see the steroid freak win over the guy who took some air out of a football. It will be a hard hitting game. The team with the ball last will win. Gostkowski wins it with a clutch field goal. Patriots win 20-17.”
    (Calogero LoGrasso)
  • “The Patriots will continue to work hard and play together as a team. Although Brady is certainly the leader, each player contributes to their success. I expect the Pats to be well-coached and prepared…each player will give 100 percent effort. Pats win by a field goal.”
    (Ed Flynn)
  • “Pretty simple, Pats are healthy, offense is back. There isn’t a defense in the league that can stop them when they’re running on all cylinders. Playing in Denver means nothing this year. Pats 31, Broncos 21.”
    (Marc Iannaco)
  • “It’s going to be tough to run against Denver’s tough defense…but Brady should have no problem moving the ball downfield with Edelman, Gronk, Lafell, and Amendola. Look for Josh McDaniels to pull out a couple of trick plays with James White for big games and running Steve Jackson up the middle in the fourth quarter to run out the clock. Denver’s offense doesn’t scare me. Patriots 31-16 for a date with Arizona in the Super Bowl.”
    (Sean Monahan)
  • “I think they’re gonna win. They’ll be okay. I don’t think Denver can put up the points…they struggle. With the way Brady plays and with his receivers back…it’s onto the Super Bowl. Pats 27, Broncos 19.”                                                                                                                                                                           (Joseph Kelly)
  • “The Denver Broncos offense doesn’t really scare anyone these days. The Pats defense will come up big and stop their ground game making the Broncos one-dimensional. The Broncos won’t stop the Pats offense that has survived the injury tornado that sidelined their stars in December. Edelman, Amendola, and Gronk are back and that’s great for Patriot Nation. Pats win 21-13.”
    (Sean Devlin)
  • “The offense is back. Big win! 36-17. On to the Super Bowl. Go Pats.”
    (Tommy McDonough)
  • “No matter how bad Denver’s playing or how good we’re playing, playing in Denver has always been tough. Either bad calls against us or lucky plays for Denver hurts us…it’s like the house of horrors most of the time. But hopefully it can change Sunday and we win. Pats 34, Denver 17.”
    (Guy Mirisola)