DENVER — Breaking down the snap counts from Sunday’s Patriots-Broncos AFC Championship game …
1. Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins had an immediate impact, after missing four games on injured reserve (abdomen).
Hollins, who was activated to the 53-man roster Saturday, played 39 snaps, 61 percent of the offense’s total. He was responsible for New England’s longest passing plays of the day — a 20-yard reception on third and 13 in the second quarter, and a 31-yard catch off of a flea flicker at the end of the third.
Those catches were also New England’s only passing first downs of the game.
Hollins also fired up the Patriots with his pregame antics, arriving at Empower Stadium with three glass beer bottles — two brown and one clear — on his fingers. As he walked in, he clinked the bottles together and called out, “Warriors, come out to play,” in a drawn out voice — reenacting a scene from the 1979 film “Warriors.”
After the game, as he ran off the field and into the locker room, Hollins put the bottles back on his fingers for a reprise. Even coach Mike Vrabel and other players followed suit, offering their own version of the drawn-out “Warriors.”
Hollins was one of the few players who didn’t speak to the media after Sunday’s game, saying he had to go into the training room. But his return undoubtedly benefits the Patriots.
Not only has Hollins proven to be a reliable, big-bodied target for Drake Maye, he also plays a pivotal role as a run blocker. Of his 39 snaps on Sunday, 25 came as a blocker.
2. Rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson played a season-low four snaps, as the Patriots relied on Rhamondre Stevenson down the stretch.
When both players are healthy, Stevenson and Henderson have operated in a backfield split. Stevenson typically logs two-thirds of the offense’s snaps, in part because of his pass-blocking ability, while Henderson logs one-third.
On Sunday, though, once the snow really started coming down, the Patriots relied on Stevenson to take all of the carries. He played 60 snaps, 94 percent of the offense’s total. Even though the final stat line wasn’t pretty — 25 carries for 71 yards for an average of 2.8 yards per attempt — Stevenson did all that he needed to do and, most importantly, didn’t fumble.
Because the Patriots took the lead on their opening possession of the second half, they were confident that they could hang on to win the game as long as they didn’t turn the ball over.
“We were running the football and protecting the football once we got those 3 points out of halftime,” Maye said. “That was a huge drive. We just needed to protect the football and let the defense keep doing their thing. It was tough elements for offense, but the defenses were playing great, and really, just a chance to not lose the game and turn the ball over or do something where we’re putting our defense in a bad spot.”
3. Inside linebacker Robert Spillane played just 13 snaps before leaving the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury suffered while making a tackle on a run play.
Spillane’s initial reaction didn’t seem promising — he took his helmet off and slammed it on the ground before getting up — but he was able to walk off the field under his own power. After a visit inside the blue medical tent and a trip to the locker room, he eventually returned to the sideline but never returned to the game.
In Spillane’s absence, Jack Gibbens played 50 snaps, 86 percent of the defense’s total. Gibbens has experience in an elevated role, as Spillane missed four games with an ankle injury.
4. Defensive end Leonard Taylor, temporarily activated to the 53-man roster from the practice squad, played 16 defensive snaps. His most important action, though, came on special teams.
Taylor, or as Vrabel likes to call him, “Lenny T,” was able to get his hand on Wil Lutz’s potentially tying, 45-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter.
“I just jumped in the air and I got a taste of the ball,” Taylor said.
The block ultimately sealed the Patriots’ victory.
The moment was undoubtedly special for Taylor, who went undrafted in 2024 and spent last season with the Jets. Two days after the Jets waived him in October, Taylor was signed to the Patriots’ practice squad. They maxed out his game-day elevations, temporarily activating him to the game-day roster in Weeks 15, 17, and 18.
There’s no limit on the number of times a practice squad player can be elevated to the game-day roster during the postseason, so the Patriots have elected to make Taylor available in each of their three playoff games. That decision has paid off and is a testament to the widespread contributions the Patriots have received this season.
5. Defensive tackle Milton Williams took his first offensive snap of the season, joining nose tackle Khyiris Tonga as part of New England’s tush-push unit on a critical fourth and 1 in the third quarter. Maye converted the first down, which set up Andy Borregales’s 23-yard field goal.
6. The entire Patriots secondary didn’t miss a snap. Cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Christian Gonzalez went wire to wire, as did safeties Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson. For all the questions about Davis’s durability — he had never played a full season up until this one — his availability hasn’t been an issue.
Nicole Yang can be reached at nicole.yang@globe.com. Follow her on X @nicolecyang.