Broncos' Jarrett Stidham once threw a TD to Demaryius Thomas — for the Patriots

Billy Heyen

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Broncos' Jarrett Stidham once threw a TD to Demaryius Thomas — for the Patriots image

The late, great Demaryius Thomas is a Denver Broncos legend.

DT will be rooting from the great football field in the sky on Sunday when the Broncos play in the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.

Ironically, Thomas played for the Patriots briefly, too. But that's not the biggest irony.

That belongs to the fact that Jarrett Stidham once threw a touchdown to Thomas. That's right, the backup QB stepping in for Bo Nix on Sunday once threw a TD to DT.

And he did it while they were playing for the Patriots.

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It was in the 2019 preseason, on a deep pass down the right sideline from Stidham to Thomas.

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The Broncos will need Stidham to harness some of that throwing prowess with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line.

It's obviously not an enviable situation for Stidham, who hasn't thrown a pass outside of the preseason since 2023.

But it's also an opportunity to prove himself. He didn't stick with the Patriots, who were his first team out of Auburn, and he's had to be a backup and a bit of a journeyman.

There's arm talent there, even if he's not close to the same level of QB as Nix.

And there's this wild Broncos link that threaded its way through a small piece of Patriots lore to connect all these teams and players as they take the field on Sunday.

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Senior Editor