Jarrett Stidham set to start AFC Championship after Bo Nix injury
Jarrett Stidham, step forward.
The Broncos quarterback is now in line to start next Sunday’s AFC Championship game after starter Bo Nix suffered a broken right ankle in Denver’s overtime win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round. Nix’s injury will require surgery and sideline him for the remainder of the season, meaning it will be up to Stidham to help Denver advance to Super Bowl LX and possibly win its first Lombardi Trophy in a decade.
It’s a tall order for the 29-year-old, who has just four career starts under his belt. Stidham’s last regular season pass in the NFL was in Week 18 of the 2023 campaign. Now, he will be entrusted with a team that earned the No. 1 seed in the conference and has one of the best defenses in the league. However, it won’t mean anything if Stidham can’t answer the bell, but there appears to be internal confidence in the veteran quarterback.
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“I will say this, in fairness to what you’ve seen, which is very limited: He’s ready,” Stidham head coach Sean Payton told reporters, via the team’s official website. “He’s ready. I said it at the start of the season, I feel like I have a [No. 2 quarterback] he’s capable of starting for a number of teams, and I know he feels the same way. Attention. Just look. He is experienced, he has played matches. They are different type players to a certain extent. »
As Payton references, we’ve had a limited view of Stidham throughout his career and tenure with the Broncos, so let’s get acquainted with the signal-caller who is poised to lead Denver to the AFC Championship.
⭐️ Five-star recruit entering college
Stidham was a highly regarded prospect coming out of high school (Stephenville, Texas), with 247Sports ranking him as a five-star recruit and the No. 1 ranked dual-threat quarterback in 2015 – ahead of Kyler Murray (No. 2), Sam Darnold (No. 6), Joe Burrow (No. 7) and Lamar Jackson (No. 9).
Stidham was an early commit from Texas Tech, but decommitted from the Red Raiders after Patrick Mahomes’ first season in Lubbock, during which it was clear that Mahomes would be a starting QB for then-coach Kliff Kinsburgy. Stidham reversed his commitment to Baylor, which had become a Texas power early in the decade, and got into shape. After starting the year as a backup, an injury at the top of the depth chart allowed Stidham to become the Bears’ starter. In his first start against Kansas State, he threw for 419 yards and had four total touchdowns.
After head coach Art Briles was fired, Stidham transferred to McClellan Junior College, where he missed the season and maintained his eligibility, then transferred to Auburn. where he was later named to the All-SEC Second Team in 2017. That year, he led the Tigers to victories over No. 1 ranked Georgia and No. 1 ranked Alabama. Stidham’s second season at Auburn was not as productive as his first, and he decided to forgo his final year of eligibility to enter the 2019 NFL Draft.
Drafted by the Patriots, seen as potential successor to Tom Brady
With the 133rd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, New England selected Stidham, who subsequently found himself No. 2 on the depth chart behind Tom Brady.
His first taste of NFL action, however, was an unforgettable experience. In Week 3, he replaced Brady in the fourth quarter of a blowout victory against the New York Jets. After arriving, Stidham threw a pick-6 to Jamal Adams, leading to Brady coming back into the contest to finish the game.
This is the most action Stidham has seen in his rookie season. His sophomore campaign, however, generated some intrigue, particularly following Brady’s departure from the Patriots after the 2019 season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Stidham was considered a possible internal option to succeed Brady, as New England did not add a clear option at quarterback in the early stages of free agency (aside from a reunion with veteran Brian Hoyer) or during the 2020 NFL Draft. Although it momentarily appeared that Stidham could be an option for the Patriots as the franchise began the post-Brady era, those plans changed later that year. was there when the club signed Cam Newton. The former NFL MVP won the starting job and Stidham lost the second-string job to Hoyer, demoting him to QB3.
Stidham came on at various points throughout the year, including a Week 4 game with the Chiefs after Newton was sidelined due to COVID-19 protocol, and Hoyer struggled during the contest. He threw his first career touchdown in the loss, but also had two interceptions.
Despite New England’s struggles throughout the year, Bill Belichick never eyed Stidham as a starter.
The following year, the Patriots drafted Mac Jones and Hoyer remained as the backup, with Stidham not seeing the field at all during the 2021 season.
Pats trade Stidham to Las Vegas
New England ended up trading Stidham to the Las Vegas Raiders in May 2022 in what was essentially a trade of 2023 Day 3 draft picks. That deal saw Stidham reunite with Josh McDaniels, who was hired as the Raiders’ head coach this offseason after serving as the Patriots’ offensive coordinator when he entered the league. Stidham began the year as Derek Carr’s backup, but was considered the club’s starter by the end of the season, starting weeks 17 and 18 for Las Vegas.
The club went 0-2, but Stidham’s numbers weren’t great, completing 64.3% of his passes, throwing four touchdowns and three interceptions, recording a passer rating of 91.6 and averaging 292 yards through the air.
Joins Broncos, starts after Russell Wilson’s bench
In 2023, Stidham signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Broncos, who had just acquired head coach Sean Payton in a trade with the New Orleans Saints. In a similar situation to the one he found himself in the previous year with the Raiders, Stidham became Denver’s starter late in the season after the Broncos benched Russell Wilson. Stidham went 1-1 in those starts in Weeks 17 and 18 of the 2023 campaign, and posted serviceable numbers again. He completed 60.6 percent of his passes, averaged 248 passing yards per game, had two touchdowns and one interception and recorded a passer rating of 87.7.
That Week 18 game against the Raiders was the last time Stidham threw a meaningful pass in the NFL, until he dropped back next Sunday in the AFC Championship. In this particular game, he was 20 of 34 for 272 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He was also sacked five times during this competition.
Can Stidham lead Denver to Super Bowl LX?
In a season as disruptive as the 2025 campaign, where quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson were nowhere to be found in the playoffs, and 44-year-old Philip Rivers came out of retirement to join the Colts, anything is possible, right? That said, this seems like an obstacle almost too big for Stidham and the Broncos to overcome.
Before we highlight how things could go wrong, let’s address a few key factors that fall in Denver’s favor as they prepare for Stidham to start in the AFC Championship.
- The AFC Championship is played at Mile High. Stidham won’t have to add the road game to his plate. Meanwhile, their opponent will be elevated to another opponent, and that seems to have had an impact on the Bills.
- Stidham knows the system. Stidham has been with the Broncos since 2023, which should give him some familiarity with what Sean Payton asks of quarterbacks, albeit without a ton of starting experience.
- Stidham has already started. As we’ve noted, Stidham doesn’t have a lot of starting experience (four starts), but it’s not zero, and that includes two starts with Payton’s Broncos. He’s not a rookie coming into this game 100% cold, which has to count for something. Stidham also flashed a bit when given these opportunities.
- The OL Broncos protected well. During the regular season with Nix under center, the Broncos offensive line allowed just 23 sacks, which was tied for the fewest in the NFL. Their allowed pressure rate of 32.6% was also fifth lowest in the league, so Stidham should have time to throw the ball.
- Denver’s defense could, in theory, take Stidham. In an ideal world, the Broncos take a leaf out of the Seahawks’ playbook in their divisional round win over the 49ers. In that win, they didn’t ask much of Sam Darnold (who was dealing with an oblique injury) and only attempted 17 passes in the win. Denver would love a game scenario in which the defense — which ranked top three in points per game (18.3), yards per game (278.2) and third-down scoring percentage (33.8 percent) this season — controls the game and only needs Stidham to make a few necessary throws.
Okay, that’s the glass half full side of the equation. The other – perhaps more realistic – side of things paints a bleak picture. First, turnovers could prove to be a problem for Stidham in the AFC Championship. He has thrown at least one interception in all but one of his four starts, and his teams are 1-3 in those contests.
While there have already been parallels to Nick Foles leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl LII title after Carson Wentz was injured in 2017 by those trying to hold on to a glimmer of hope, it’s difficult to make that connection. Foles made 36 starts before joining the Eagles during that 2017 season, which included a Pro Bowl campaign in 2013. Stidham doesn’t have the same pedigree.
Stidham will be the seventh quarterback to make his first career start of the playoff season. Frank Reich is the only one of the previous six to lead his team to victory. He is also the first quarterback to make his first start in the conference championship since Roger Staubach in 1972.
What Stidham is attempting to do is essentially unprecedented and will have to defy history if he wants to get Denver over the hump with an AFC Championship victory and a trip to Super Bowl LX.
