The Denver Broncos were jubilant following their thrilling overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night, but that feeling was quickly dampened when it was announced that Bo Nix would miss the remainder of the season after breaking his ankle near the end of the game.
That will lead to the team inserting backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham for the AFC Championship Game. Though Sean Payton feels strongly about his No. 2 QB, he hasn't had the chance to show it much at the professional level.
That is because Stidham has only made four starts in his entire career. Drafted in the fourth round in 2019, Stidham played for the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders before landing in Denver. He started two games for the Raiders in 2022 and then filled in for the final two games of the 2023 season after the Broncos benched Russell Wilson.
No quarterback in the history of the NFL
Giants quarterback Phil Simms broke his foot in Week 15 and Hostetler, who had only made two career starts prior to that, came off the bench to lead the Giants to a victory in Super Bowl XXV.There isn't much precedent for this. Stidham will be looking to do something that has rarely been seen in the league. He will also be the first quarterback since 1972 to make his first start of the season in the conference championship game. That year, Roger Staubach did so for the Dallas Cowboys, replacing Craig Morton as the starter.
Staubach had a shoulder injury during the preseason and missed most of the regular season. When he was healthy, Cowboys head coach Tom Landry stuck with Morton but eventually went back to Staubach when Morton struggled in the divisional playoffs. Still, Staubach and the Cowboys lost in the NFC Championship Game that year.
READ: Broncos have major injury concern despite missing Bo Nix heading into championship game
If the Broncos are able to get to the Super Bowl and win it with Stidham, it will quickly go down as one of the more unlikely stories in league history.
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