Shortly after Denver beat the visiting Buffalo Bills 33-30 in overtime of the AFC divisional playoffs on Sunday, the Broncos received devastating news that could derail their Super Bowl hopes.
Broncos starting quarterback Bo Nix sustained a broken bone in his ankle and will miss the remainder of the playoffs, head coach Sean Payton told reporters after the game.
“Not good news. On the second-to-last play in overtime, Bo fractured a bone in his right ankle,” Payton told reporters, adding that Nix is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday with Dr. Norman E. Waldrop III in Birmingham, Ala.
Payton also said that backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham will get the start in the AFC Championship Game a week from Sunday. The top-seeded Broncos will host the winner of Sunday’s divisional game between the No. 5 seed Houston Texans and second-seeded New England Patriots.
“Stiddy’s ready to go,” Payton said of Stidham.
Nix was 26 of 46 for 279 yards and three touchdowns and an interception on Sunday.
After the Broncos punted to open overtime and then intercepted Bills quarterback Josh Allen on the ensuing drive, Nix drove Denver 75 yards on six plays to set up Wil Lutz’s game-winning 23-yard field goal.
Payton said Nix handled the injury news well, considering the circumstances.
“He’s such a strong, faith-based guy,” Payton said. “He was sitting in the hallway with his family, and I went over, and we’re all talking to him. He knows that God has a plan for him. He said he had one (broken ankle) in high school, and then he said he had one at Auburn.
“I said, ‘I didn’t realize that.’ I said, ‘If I would have known that, I wouldn’t have drafted you,'” Payton said, laughing. “He’s a tough cookie. I said, ‘Listen. I believe you’re the second quarterback in Year 2 to take your team to a (conference) championship game, and the first is (the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick) Mahomes. This team, all year, has lost key players, and we’ll rise up for the next challenge and we’ll go from there.”
Stidham, 29, has been with the Broncos since 2023 but played in only one game and did not attempt a pass this season. He has never played in the playoffs during an NFL career spent with the New England Patriots (2019-20), Las Vegas Raiders (2022) and Broncos. Stidham, selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, is 1-3 as a starter. He has played 20 games and completed 59.4% of his passes for 1,422 yards, eight TDs and eight interceptions.
“In fairness to what you’ve seen, which is very limited, he’s ready,” Payton said. “I’ve said this at the beginning of the season, I feel like I have a (No.) 2 (quarterback) that’s capable of starting for a handful of, a number of teams. I know he feels the same way. So watch out. Just watch. He’s experienced, he’s played in games. They’re different-type players to some degree, and yet they’re both… They’re very close friends, as with (QB) Sam (Ehlinger). It’s a tight room. Sam will be our (No.) 2, and here we go.”
–Field Level Media
