The Denver Broncos came into the AFC title game with an intention to shock the world, and unfortunately, the team fell short. Denver entered this game under some saddening circumstances, as Bo Nix broke his ankle hear the end of the overtime period and was ruled out for the reason.
Right on the cusp of a berth into Super Bowl LX, Nix went down, which turned the attention to Jarrett Stidham, the Broncos backup QB now in his third year with the team. Stidham was the first free agency signing that was made in the Sean Payton era, so there was reason to believe he could have played well.
However, at the end of the day, things just did not work out the way Denver wanted to. The moment was clearly too big for Stidham, who never really got into a rhythm, turned it over once which led to the Patriots touchdown, and just did not make good decisions with the football. All in all, this game proved just how valuable Bo Nix is to this team.
Jarrett Stidham was never going to pull this off, because he's not Bo Nix
Bo Nix's value as a franchise QB in the NFL is something that has still been debated even into year two. Nix carried the team on his shoulders for much of the season, leading the team on many fourth-quarter comebacks.
And in the Divisional Round against the Buffalo Bills, Nix was able to cut through the Bills defense and lead the team to victory. He led the team in rushing that game, too. From top to bottom, the Denver Broncos are still in a great position going forward, but it's going to be quite hard to get back to the AFC title game.
Ideally, Nix comes back fully healthy with more weapons on offense and can get the team back to this point, as his value to the Denver Broncos is notable, and not having Nix in the lineup during the AFC title game was clearly felt. At the end of the day, Jarrett Stidham is a backup QB for a reason.
Bo Nix is the leader of this team and is, frankly, a top-10 quarterback.