Last showdown for the AFC Championship against Drake Maye and the New England Patriots in less than a week. Both teams have been here before head-to-head back during the golden “Manning & Brady” Era. Mile High Stadium will be freezing with a packed house.
On the second to last play of the game, Denver received devastating news and detrimental blow to their roster, losing their starting Quarterback Bo Nix for the post-season. Nix will likely be on IR after having immediate surgery on a fractured bone in his ankle that’ll put him out for at least 3 months before he fully recovers.
Sean Payton’s statement on when Nix came off the field and realized that something was wrong with his ankle:
“As he comes over, I kind of chest bump him. Jab him, like “Fricking A”. And he’s like, “Careful”. It was then I’m like, “You all right?” And he said, “Yeah”. He goes, “But man, it’s hurting.” And I said, “What do you got?” He said, “My ankle.” And I said, “All right. You’ll be fine”, and I tapped him in the chest again. I said, “Just enjoy this field goal.” And so, we come in afterwards and at that point it’s — everyone’s in there and celebrate. And I came and did the presser with you all.
“When I came back from that press conference, Beau, our medical trainer, George, there was a group in my office and I knew. They didn’t say anything, but I knew there was something. We always meet after the game and discuss injuries, but that was early. And they said, “Look, there’s a fracture.” Showed me the x-ray… Immediately, I walked down the hall. Bo was kind of sitting outside the locker room leaning up against the wall. His wife, his parents, his family there. I think Stiddy, a few others… And I just asked him how he was doing. “Are you hanging in there?” And I said to you guys last night, this is a strong-minded individual. Obviously, it was disappointing right at that moment to get to this point.
- – Denver Broncos Head Coach, Sean Payton
The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time, and the city of Denver is unsure of how this will all play out with their star quarterback Bo Nix to lead the offense.
The Broncos locker-room is still in high spirits and have all the faith in the world in their backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham to lead them to the Super Bowl.
There were several Broncos that made comments regarding Bo Nix, and their now starting quarterback Jarret Stidham.
“He’s a competitor. Every practice, it’s his time to get his reps for the week. Sometimes it’s hard. When he’s making plays against us in practice, I get pissed about it.
- Denver Broncos Defensive Coordinator, Vance Joseph
“We see all the time in practice, on the scout team, we got to go against him. Just the confidence in his throws that he makes. Just the swagger that he walks around with. I know that there’s not anybody more prepared than him for this game. I know he’s been waiting on this opportunity. So, it’s not going to be surprising at all to see how he plays on Sunday.”
- Denver Broncos Linebacker, Nik Bonitto
“There is no doubt in my mind. I am a starting caliber quarterback in this league.”
- Denver Broncos Quarterback, Jarret Stidham
“I feel like I’ve got a two that’s capable of starting for a handful of teams, and I know he feels the same way. Watch out. Just watch.”
- Denver Broncos Head Coach, Sean Payton
Jarret Stidham is ready to fire and carry this offense on his back, even with very little time and preparation. This isn’t Stidham’s first time playing under pressure and in a hostile environment. Stiddy has some impressive resume for a “non-starter”.
Sunday will be Jarrett Stidham’s first start of 2025. In the AFC Championship. It’ll also be the first time this has happened since former Denver Broncos Quarterback; Roger Staubach led the Broncos in 1972.
Stidham is no slouch by any means. He is an intelligent player with a high level of confidence that knows Sean Payton’s system and can move in and out of the pocket.
He was drafted in the 4th round in New England to back up Tom Brady, which speaks volumes. At that time, New England had a very sophisticated playbook that not just any quarterback was capable to learning with ease.
Stidham also had a run with the Las Vegas Raiders, and the two games that he started he played against the Kansas City Chiefs, and the San Francisco 49ers. Stidham cooked both teams, which are also the two teams that played in the Super Bowl that year.
Denver can very well pull off a “Nick Foles” stunner. It will be tough with a handful of impact players unable to play due to injuries and freezing temperatures.
Troy Franklin (WR), J.K. Dobbins (RB), Luke Wattenburg (C), Drew Sanders (LB), Lucas Kroll (TE), will all be sitting this one out. So, Sean Payton will need to get creative with the playbook, and Stidham will need to play out of his mind if the Broncos are going to advance to the Super Bowl.
In the words of DMX & The Legend, Mills Lane, “Let’s get it on!!”
Dante Robinson | Senior NFL Analyst for The NSR Network
