Like Jeff Hostetler with the New York Giants in 1990 and Nick Foles with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017, the Denver Broncos hope their backup quarterback, Jarrett Stidham, can help them win the Super Bowl in the wake of losing their starting quarterback late in the season.
For Denver, Stidham steps in the spotlight after Bo Nix suffered a season-ending fracture in his right ankle in the team’s AFC divisional round victory over the Buffalo Bills last week. As for the Broncos’ AFC Championship Game opponent, the New England Patriots appear to think that Stidham is up for the challenge.
“I don’t know if it’s so much the challenge of that he hasn’t played in a while, more than just the whole team as a challenge. He’s very capable of being a starting quarterback,” Patriots inside linebackers coach and defensive playcaller Zak Kuhr said on Thursday about Stidham, according to Boston.com. “He could be the starter for a number of teams.
“Very talented, athletic, smart. He can run better than what most people think. Strong arm, very accurate. You watch this film. But I don’t think it brings some added level of difficulty as far as preparing for it.”
As for Stidham’s background, he was, ironically, drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft after serving as Auburn‘s starting quarterback from 2017-18 — and playing the 2015 season at Baylor. Across his two years at Auburn, Stidham averaged 2,976 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, 5.5 interceptions and a 144.4 passer rating per season, while completing 63.6% of his passes.
Regarding his NFL resume, Stidham spent the first three seasons of his career with the Patriots (2019-21) and the 2022 season with the Las Vegas Raiders before signing with the Broncos in 2023, with whom he has played ever since. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was Stidham’s offensive coordinator on the Patriots from 2019-21 and his head coach on the Raiders in 2022; McDaniels returned to the Patriots on new head coach Mike Vrabel’s staff for the 2025 season.
McDaniels referred to Stidham as “smart” and “accurate.” Stidham has made four career NFL starts and 20 appearances altogether; he made two starts for the Raiders in 2022 and two starts for the Broncos in 2023.
Denver earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC this season at 14-3. In the regular season, the second-year Nix totaled 3,931 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions and an 87.8 passer rating, while completing 63.4% of his passes. He also rushed for 356 yards and five touchdowns.
Kickoff for the AFC Championship Game in Denver is Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET.
