What To Expect From Denver Broncos Quarterback Jarrett Stidham In AFC Championship Game?

The Denver Broncos, riding high on a magical season, lost Bo Nix to a broken ankle in the dying moments of a Divisional Round thriller. The stage is set for the AFC Championship Game. The opponent? The New England Patriots, the very team that drafted the Broncos’ backup years ago.

Enter Jarrett Stidham.

Stidham hasn’t thrown a pass in a game that mattered since the 2023 season. He’s spent the last year wearing a baseball cap, holding a tablet, and watching Nix become the face of the franchise. Now, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, he’s being asked to outduel a historic franchise in a game where the pressure is heavy enough to crush a diamond. Can he get the job done?

Can Stidham Shake Off the Rust?

According to the stat sheet, Stidham is entering this game with zero passing yards this season. That’s a stat line usually reserved for linebackers, not the guy taking the snaps in the conference title game. History isn’t exactly on his side here; he’s poised to become one of the only quarterbacks since 1950 to start a playoff game without a single regular-season passing yard to his name.

But if you listen to Broncos Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi, you’d think Stidham has been lighting it up in secret scrimmages at Area 51. Lombardi claims Stidham had an “outstanding” training camp and “knows it cold.”

It is easy to be skeptical of coach-speak, but Stidham isn’t a rookie. He’s a veteran who has been in the league long enough to know how the sausage is made. The question isn’t whether he knows the playbook; it’s whether his arm remembers how to hit a moving target when 300-pound linemen are trying to turn him into a smear on the turf.

Sean Payton Says They Are Going To “Rip It”

Usually, when a backup QB enters a game of this magnitude, the game plan shrinks. You run the ball, you throw screens, you pray your defense scores a touchdown. You play “don’t lose” football.

Apparently, Sean Payton didn’t get that memo. Reports out of Denver suggest the Broncos aren’t planning to hide Stidham. Payton explicitly said his quarterback is going to “rip it.” They want to be aggressive. They want to push the ball downfield.

It is a bold strategy. It is also the only one that makes sense. The Patriots’ defense is a buzzsaw. If Denver tries to play conservative, dink-and-dunk football, New England will suffocate them. Stidham has to be willing to take shots, even if it means risking a turnover.

The New England Reunion

You couldn’t write a better narrative hook. Stidham was drafted by New England in 2019. He sat in that quarterback room with Tom Brady. He backed up Cam Newton. He knows the “Patriot Way.” He also knows a lot of the guys on the other sideline.

Patriots Head Coach Mike Vrabel and his staff are playing it cool, saying Stidham is “capable” and “athletic.” But you know inside the defensive meetings, they are licking their chops. They know his tendencies. Former teammate Cam Newton even popped up on ESPN to praise Stidham’s smarts while simultaneously wondering how he’ll handle the chaos when the pocket collapses.

That’s the “What If” factor. Stidham is great on the whiteboard. He’s great in a clean pocket. But what happens when the first read isn’t there, and the ghost of defenses past comes haunting him?

The Locker Room Has His Back

Here is the X-factor that stats can’t measure: The Broncos locker room seems to genuinely love this guy. This isn’t just the standard “next man up” platitudes you hear in press conferences. Teammates like Mike McGlinchey and Alex Singleton are vocal about their belief in him. They describe him as a “second quarterback coach” on the field.

There is a vibe in Denver that they aren’t dead in the water. They’ve rallied around Stidham not as a replacement, but as the guy who has been “waiting for this moment.” Emotion is a powerful drug in sports. If the Broncos rally around their backup with a “us against the world” mentality, that emotional wave can compensate for a lot of physical rust.

Sunday isn’t just a game for Stidham; it’s a career-defining referendum. If he wins, he’s a Denver legend forever. He is the backup who stepped off the bench to slay his former team and punch a ticket to the Super Bowl. If he loses? Well, he’s just another backup who tried his best.