ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Just over 12 hours after Sean Payton had been told starting quarterback Bo Nix would miss the remainder of the playoffs because of a fractured right ankle, the Denver Broncos‘ coach said Sunday morning he has complete confidence in backup Jarrett Stidham.
Stidham will start the AFC Championship Game next Sunday for the Broncos and Payton is quick to say the 29-year-old quarterback is ready for his first postseason moment.
“I know how he was coached in New England, I know exactly how he was coached in New England,” Payton said. “And then I know how [current Patriots offensive coordinator Josh] McDaniels felt about him … but ultimately … it’s our three years here, our three years watching him day in and day out. He will be ready to go.”
Stidham, who was signed by the Broncos as a free agent in 2023 — Payton’s first season — has never played in a postseason game. He has appeared in one game this season for four snaps, including a kneel-down to end the game, in the Broncos’ 44-24 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8.
Stidham appeared in three games in the 2024 season, Nix’s rookie year, but did not attempt a pass. His last significant playing time came in 2023 when he started the final two games of the season after Payton had benched Russell Wilson.
Stidham threw two touchdowns to go with an interception combined in those two games, including a 16-9 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17 that season. Sam Ehlinger, who has spent most of the season on the Broncos’ practice squad before he was signed to the roster last week, will be the team’s backup.
On Sunday, Payton called the notion the starting quarterback and backup quarterback split practice reps in some way during the regular season “mythical,” but that Stidham has stayed sharp because he has faced the Broncos’ starting defense every day in practice as the defensive gameplan was installed each week.
“[Splitting reps on offense] just doesn’t happen, in a work week the reps are limited and the starter wants them,” Payton said. “But one of Stiddy’s strengths is his mental aptitude and his progressions and understanding plays. There would be practices I’m like looking at [defensive coordinator] Vance [Joseph] getting pissed off because Stiddy’s making our defense look bad. He’s very accurate, he’s a got a lot to his ball.”
Payton pointed to successes some backup quarterbacks have had through the years in fill-in roles, including Teddy Bridgewater‘s 5-0 run with the New Orleans Saints during Payton’s tenure in New Orleans when Drew Brees was injured in the 2019 season. He also said the Houston Texans went 3-0 in the three games backup Davis Mills started in place of C.J. Stroud this season.
Stroud was knocked out of the Nov. 2 game against the Broncos with a concussion — an 18-15 Denver win. Payton added the Broncos coaching staff would begin game-planning in earnest Sunday night after the Patriots-Texans divisional-round game.
“Plan has always got to be built on the types and skillsets of players you’re playing with,” Payton said. “Are there certain things Bo does differently than Stiddy — absolutely.”
Payton also expanded on just how quickly Nix’s injury diagnosis unfolded after Sunday’s 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills. Nix suffered his fractured ankle on a first-and-10 from the Buffalo 36-yard line with 6 minutes, 4 seconds left in overtime, when he was tackled for a loss of two yards on a designed run.
He had quickly jumped up after the tackle to get back in the huddle, with a slight limp. Then two plays later, on a kneel-down, his right ankle twisted awkwardly, and he showed a pronounced limp as he moved back to the Broncos’ sideline.
Payton said when Nix got to the sideline after the kneel-down to center the ball for Wil Lutz’s game-winning field goal, it was the first time Nix told him something was wrong.
“I kind of chest bump him, jab him like fricking-a, he’s like ‘careful’,” Payton said. “I’m like ‘you all right?’ and he said ‘man, it’s hurting.”’
Payton did his initial postgame media gathering and returned to his office next to the locker room and “there was a group in my office, they didn’t say anything, but I knew there was something [wrong].” Payton was then told X-rays revealed Nix had a fracture.
He said he then spoke to Nix, who was in the hallway next to the Broncos’ locker room with his wife, parents and Stidham.
