The Broncos punched their ticket to the AFC Championship Game in Denver next week, but they now have to take an unforeseen path to get there. It isn't a road that no one has gone down before, but it's a road that no one ever wants to go down. The Broncos are going to need to win two games with their backup quarterback to win a Super Bowl, and the season now rests on the right arm of Jarrett Stidham.
Stidham is in his third year with the Broncos and is getting what is easily the biggest chance of his NFL career. He has been backing up Bo Nix the past two seasons, but hasn't thrown a single pass in the 2025 season. Once thought to be the heir to Tom Brady's throne in New England, he has the chance to author some incredible NFL history.
Stidham will have a chance to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Brady and, most recently, Nick Foles as backup quarterbacks to win a championship. Stidham, a former Auburn quarterback much like Nix, has been praised as being a great mentor to Bo and a great friend of his. Now, it is up to him to help deliver the ring that Nix had his sights set on.
History shows that Stidham's path to a ring is anything but impossible
Stidham will be far from the first quarterback to step in as a backup and try to win a ring, and he would be far from the first to be able to do so. Foles took over for the Eagles late in 2017, taking the reins of a team atop the NFC, and it wasn't the prettiest start. Once the calendar turned to January and the playoffs, it was a completely different story for Foles.
The Eagles won three games in the playoffs, bringing home Super Bowl LII, and Foles was the Super Bowl MVP. Much like Stidham, Foles was a career backup who had flashed and shown signs before in the chances he got, but never did enough to become the starter for an NFL franchise. Regardless, he stepped up and left his mark when the Eagles needed him the most.
This isn't to say that Stidham will win a Super Bowl MVP, let alone a ring or any playoff game at all, but all hope isn't lost in Denver. The Broncos have had Stidham in their system for three years now, the longest of any quarterback on the roster. With the season on the line every game, the Broncos have no time to blink or feel sorry for themselves. Two more wins, and no one will ever forget them.