The Denver Broncos will not have Bo Nix for the rest of the season. Nix broke his ankle near the end of the overtime period in the team's win over the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round. Backup QB Jarrett Stidham now takes over as the QB1 for at least one game.
For much of the week, we've heard a lot about how well Stidham is expected to play. With Sean Payton's successful history with backup quarterbacks, there is a legitimate chance that he does come out and play well. There is a reason why Stidham is a backup, though, so there is surely going to be a ceiling here.
But Jarrett Stidham comes out and plays well for the Denver Broncos in the AFC title game and the team wins, that may only trigger a bit of a firestorm among Broncos fans. While the discussion could end up getting a bit ridiculous, it's absolutely going to be something that will happen.
How will Denver Broncos fans react if Jarrett Stidham has a strong game on Sunday?
Even into this year, folks in and around the NFL world still doubted Bo Nix. Most people were wrong on Nix when he came into the NFL back in 2024, as he quickly proved to be a lot better than most thought. That continued into 2025, as Nix helped lead the Broncos to a 14-win season, and AFC West title, and the first seed in the conference for the playoffs.
But even during this breakout season, there are still people out there who will use whatever necessary to discredit how good Nix has been in the NFL. In many cases, these people are holding onto their priors and simply do not want to admit that Nix proved them wrong.
Well, not only could this be a debate among the more national NFL talking heads, this could spill into Broncos Country as well - if Jarrett Stidham plays well, and the offense doesn't appear to take much of a hit without Bo Nix, will people begin wondering if there was even a downgrade?
I can see it now; "Bo Nix isn't much of an upgrade over Jarrett Stidham based on how the Broncos offense looked."
This is surely going to be what many people run with, and it could create a bit of a firestorm and some unnecessary and ridiculous debate. Even if Stidham does play well and the Broncos go on to win the Super Bowl, Bo Nix will remain the starter of this team, period.
There is a reason why the Broncos hand-picked Bo Nix in the 2024 NFL Draft and why he's been the starter of this team for two seasons.