Jarrett Stidham to join exclusive list of QBs in AFC Championship Game due to Bo Nix injury
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Jarrett Stidham certainly didn’t expect to play a major role in the Denver Broncos’ quest for a fourth Super Bowl championship. Bo Nix had put together a terrific second season and, on Saturday, had just helped his team pull off a 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills.
One broken ankle — and one Sean Payton press conference — changed things in a hurry.
With Nix now lost for the season, it’s now up to Stidham, whose first start of the year will be the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 25 at Mile High.
The former Auburn quarterback is already set to make a little history. Only one other quarterback has seen his first start of the season come in a conference championship: Hall of Famer Roger Staubach in 1972. Staubach ultimately lost that game.
Should Stidham lead the Broncos to victory, he’ll become the first quarterback since 1950 to win after making his first start of the season during any stage of the playoffs. The other is Frank Reich in the Bills’ 32-point comeback against the Houston Oilers in the 1992 Wild Card Round.
The AFC Championship Game will mark Stidham’s fifth overall start. He started twice with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 and twice more with the Broncos in 2023.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
