Broncos have to rely on a QB that was once a better option than Russell Wilson

Sean Payton has shown a lot of faith in Jarrett Stidham, including a memorable moment when he claimed the QB could provide a spark on offense

BY JAMES MERILATT

Jan 18, 2026, 8:23 AM Updated: 9:54 am

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Watch: The Bo Nix Injury Takes The Denver Broncos From NFL Playoff Ecstasy To Agony And Puts Jarrett Stidham In The Spotlight | 13 mins

Jarrett Stidham will be the Broncos starting quarterback in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday. That’s not a typo. This isn’t a bad dream. No one in hallucinating. That’s the reality due to one of the biggest gut punches in the history of Denver sports.

On Saturday afternoon, the Broncos beat the Bills in the AFC Divisional Round, besting Buffalo in overtime. The 33-30 thriller will go down as an instant classic, a battle that looked like the late rounds of Balboa-Creed II, as both teams exchanged punches and absorbed potential knockout blows.

In the game, Bo Nix was fantastic. The second-year quarterback completed 26-of-46 passes, for 279 yards and three touchdowns. He led a go-ahead drive in the final minutes of regulation, only to top that moment with a game-winning march in OT.

It was a coming-of-age moment for Nix. The command performance in a playoff win catapulted him into a different category of NFL quarterbacks. And an appearance in the AFC title game, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, created an opportunity for him to move into even more elite company.

But he won’t get that chance. In a surreal moment, Sean Payton returned to the podium for a second postgame press conference, delivering news that shocked Broncos Country.

“Not good news,” Payton said. “On the second-to-last play in overtime, Bo fractured a bone in his right ankle. He’s scheduled to have surgery (on) Tuesday of this week, which will put him out for the rest of the season.”

Say, what? How did this happen? When did this occur?

No one even knew Nix was hurt. After apparently breaking a bone in his ankle on a run to the left, the quarterback heaved a deep ball to Marvin Mims that drew a pass-interference penalty and set up Wil Lutz’s game-winning chip shot. Nix then took a knee to center the football. All seemed fine.

He did his postgame interview with Tracy Wolfson on the field. He talked to the press after the game. No one had any idea that anything was possibly wrong with Nix.

The news came out of nowhere. It felt like some sort of bad April Fool’s Day joke. It didn’t seem possible.

But it’s true. And now, the Broncos have to come to terms with the fact that they’ll be playing in the biggest game the franchise has participated in since Super Bowl 50 with a backup quarterback.

Stidham has started four games since being selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He’s 1-3 in his career.

The QB has appeared in 20 games, compiling incredibly mediocre stats along the way. He’s completed 117 of his 197 passes, a 59.4 completion percentage, while tossing eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Feel free to get nauseous at this point. It’s hard to put a positive spin on those numbers.

But people will this week. And it’ll start with Payton.

“Stidy’s ready to go,” the head coach said on Saturday night. “We’ll rise up for the next challenge.”

Perhaps he’s just trying to be positive. After all, what else is Payton supposed to do in such a downer of a situation? But there’s a chance he believes it.

For years, the head coach has shown faith in the quarterback. In March 2023, Payton gave Stidham a two-year, $10-million contract to come be Denver’s backup. This past offseason, he inked him to another two-year deal, this time for $12 million.

Money talks. And the Broncos have shown that they believe in Stidham with the cash they’ve thrown his way.

But that’s not the biggest support Payton has shown the quarterback. Not even close.

In December 2023, the head coach decided to bench Russell Wilson with two games remaining in the season. After a Christmas Eve loss to the Patriots eliminated the Broncos from playoff contention, Denver decided to shut down their high-priced QB.

Most people speculated that it was because of economics. If Wilson got hurt in meaningless games, it would tie the Broncos hands during the offseason. But Payton insisted that wasn’t the case.

“We’re desperately trying to win,” the head coach said at the time. “Sure, in our game today there are economics and all those other things, but the No. 1 push behind this — and it’s a decision I’m making — is to get a spark offensively.”

What was going to provide that spark? Inserting Stidham into the starting lineup in place of Wilson.

The Broncos went 1-1 in those two games. They scored 16 points in a win over the Chargers and put 14 on the board in a loss to the Raiders.

If Stidham provided a spark, it was hard to spot. He was 40-of-66 for 496 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in those games.

Now, he’ll be the Broncos hope in the AFC Championship Game. And if they manage to win, something that is definitely possible at home, even with a backup quarterback, he’ll be their signal caller in Super Bowl 60.

Payton put his neck on the line for Stidham. Now, in the biggest football moment the Mile High City has seen in a decade, the head coach will have the chance to prove that he was right about the journeyman quarterback.