Jarrett Stidham to Start AFC Championship for Broncos After Bo Nix Injury Shocker
This wasn’t how the story was supposed to go. Bo Nix had just delivered the kind of playoff performance that stamps a young quarterback’s arrival - poise under pressure, clutch throws, and two late-game drives that sealed a 33-30 overtime win over the Bills in the Divisional Round. It was a coming-of-age game, the type that launches a career into the national spotlight.
And then, just like that, it was over.
In a stunning twist that hit Broncos Country like a punch to the gut, head coach Sean Payton returned to the podium after his initial postgame press conference to deliver the news: Nix had fractured a bone in his right ankle on the second-to-last play of overtime. He’s scheduled for surgery and is officially out for the remainder of the season.
Let that sink in. The quarterback who just led Denver to its biggest win in years - a gritty, back-and-forth slugfest that felt like something out of a Rocky sequel - will be watching the AFC Championship Game from the sideline.
And the man now tasked with leading the Broncos to their first Super Bowl appearance since the Peyton Manning era? Jarrett Stidham.
Yes, that Jarrett Stidham.
To be clear, this isn’t a knock on Stidham. But the reality is, he’s a backup quarterback with a 1-3 career record as a starter.
Since being drafted in the fourth round back in 2019, he’s appeared in 20 games, completing 117 of 197 passes - a 59.4% clip - with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. Those aren’t exactly the numbers that scream “playoff hero.”
But here we are.
And to be fair, the Broncos have been preparing for this moment - at least financially. When Payton arrived in Denver, he made it clear he wanted a reliable backup behind center.
In March 2023, the Broncos signed Stidham to a two-year, $10 million deal. Then, they doubled down this past offseason with another two-year contract, this time worth $12 million.
That’s not just insurance money. That’s belief.
And Payton’s belief in Stidham goes beyond the paycheck. It was just over a year ago when the head coach made a bold - and controversial - call to bench Russell Wilson with two games left in the regular season.
The official line was about needing a spark on offense, not salary cap gymnastics. And the man Payton turned to?
Again, Jarrett Stidham.
The results back then were modest. Stidham led the Broncos to a 1-1 finish, putting up 16 points in a win over the Chargers and 14 in a loss to the Raiders.
He threw for 496 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in those games. It wasn’t flashy, but it was functional.
Now, that same quarterback is staring down the biggest start of his career - the AFC Championship Game, at home, with a trip to Super Bowl 60 on the line.
It’s not the script anyone expected, especially after the way Nix played against Buffalo. The young QB was electric, going 26-of-46 for 279 yards and three touchdowns.
He engineered a go-ahead drive in the final minutes of regulation, then outdid himself with a game-winning march in overtime. And he did it all with a fractured ankle - an injury no one even realized had happened until Payton dropped the bombshell postgame.
Nix even conducted his on-field interview with Tracy Wolfson and met with the media afterward. There was no limp, no grimace, no sign that anything was wrong. Just a young quarterback basking in the glow of the biggest win of his life.
Now, that glow has dimmed. And the Broncos are left with a reality that feels as surreal as it is sudden: they’ll be playing the most important game the franchise has seen in a decade with a backup under center.
Still, Payton isn’t flinching.
“Stidy’s ready to go,” he said Saturday night. “We’ll rise up for the next challenge.”
That’s the mindset Denver has to embrace. No one’s pretending this is ideal - not the fans, not the locker room, not even the coaching staff.
But in the NFL, the next-man-up mentality isn’t just a cliché. It’s a survival tactic.
And if there’s one thing this Broncos team has shown all season, it’s resilience.
So now, it’s Stidham’s turn. A journeyman quarterback who’s waited in the wings for years is about to take center stage.
And while the numbers don’t scream “Super Bowl run,” the opportunity is there. The Broncos are still alive.
They’re still dangerous. And they’re still playing at home.
If Stidham can steady the ship and lead Denver to a win on Sunday, he won’t just be filling in - he’ll be writing his own chapter in Broncos history. And for Sean Payton, it would be the ultimate validation of a gamble he made long before anyone else believed.