Suddenly, the franchise hit a devastating new low.
On Saturday night, the Broncos outlasted the Buffalo Bills 33–30 in an overtime thriller that captivated football fans across the country. The Mile High City team took down the reigning league MVP, Josh Allen, and advanced to its first AFC Championship game since 2015. When the game clock hit zero, Denver was living a fairytale. But it quickly turned into a nightmare.
Bo Nix, the franchise quarterback, suffered a fracture in his right ankle and required surgery to repair the injury. Game over. The biggest win of the season came with a significant cost.
"(Nix) is a tough cookie,” Payton said. “I said, 'Listen, I believe you're the second quarterback in his second year to take his team to the (conference) championship game, and the first is Mahomes. We'll rise up for the next challenge."
That next challenge now falls on the shoulders of Denver’s backup quarterback.
There is only one solution: the Broncos now must turn to their backup quarterback. Payton has already announced that Jarrett Stidham will start for the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots. It’s a matchup loaded with symbolism.
The Patriots originally drafted him in 2019 with the intention of eventually replacing Tom Brady. Stidham served as his backup but underperformed and never fulfilled New England’s expectations. After Brady left in 2020, the Patriots signed Cam Newton and pushed Stidham into a reserve role again. Six years later, he gets a redemption game.
A chance to prove he can be trusted - should've been trusted back then.
"Stiddy’s ready to go. I said this at the beginning of the season: I feel like I’ve got two (backup quarterbacks) that are capable of starting for a number of teams. I know he feels the same way," said Payton. "So, watch out. Just watch."
The Broncos' leadership clearly believes him. Otherwise, the team wouldn’t have signed him to a two-year, $12 million extension in March 2025. Payton liked him for a reason. He is convinced the former Auburn standout is ready. Nobody doubts that Stidham possesses the skills and talent to succeed.
But there is a big 'if'.
It’s not that he’s been a backup for seven years; it’s that he hasn’t seen extended game action since 2023. In the NFL, that feels like an eternity. He’s only one of two backup quarterbacks who haven't attempted a single pass this season - Jimmy Garoppolo (Los Angeles Rams). In fact, Stidham didn’t throw one in 2024 either.
Now, he’s being asked to step in against one of the best defenses in football, with a Super Bowl berth on the line.
"The Broncos barely won Saturday’s game," ESPN analyst Dan Graziano said after the news broke. "But now? You want me to believe they’re going to beat Houston or New England with Jarrett Stidham at quarterback? I’m sorry, Jarrett, but it doesn’t feel like this team is good enough to pull a 2017 Eagles and win it all without their starting quarterback."
And yet, history says it’s possible.
While some experts don’t believe Denver can win the Super Bowl without their star playmaker, the Philadelphia Cinderella story serves as a bulletproof example that it can be done. It happened. So, why not again?
During Week 14 in 2017, the Eagles' superstar quarterback, Carson Wentz, tore his ACL. Backup Nick Foles took over and delivered one of the most memorable postseason runs in NFL history. Foles guided the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory over the Patriots, earned Super Bowl MVP honors, and became the first player ever to both throw and catch a touchdown in the game.
The Eagles won their first Lombardi trophy after fans and experts wrote them off following Wentz’s season-ending injury. Not all superheroes wear capes.
And that remains the million-dollar question. Can history be repeated?
The world loves a good comeback story. If there is an unflawed place for miracles, it’s in the realm of sports. Stidham has a week to get starting reps and prepare for the biggest game of his career. Just because he hasn’t been playing much doesn’t mean he doesn’t have what it takes. Most importantly, he believes in himself.
"I know I’m a starting quarterback in this league. I have no doubts about that, and it just didn’t shake out my way," Stidham said in August 2024. "I know what kind of player I am, what kind of person I am. Like I said earlier, I’ll be ready to go if I need to be... I have no doubts that I’m a starting-caliber quarterback in this league."
Now he gets the chance to convince everybody else, too. The last time the Broncos won the Super Bowl was February 7, 2016, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Exactly a decade later, the championship game takes place at the same venue. To earn the trip to California, Denver must get past New England - a team that stood in their way ten years ago.
It all lies in the hands of Jarrett Stidham.