Jarrett Stidham and the Denver Broncos had the New England Patriots down 7-0 and in a position to go up 10-0 if they kicked a short field goal. Instead, they turned the ball over on fourth down, and not a single thing has gone right for them in the second quarter since.
Despite a beautiful deep shot to Marvin Mims that led to a Courtland Sutton touchdown that put Denver up 7-0 in the first quarter, the Patriots were able to tie the game up at 7-7. This was due to some officiating nonsense that originally screwed the Patriots, but wound back around to giving the Broncos the short end of the stick.
What was originally deemed an intentional grounding penalty by Bo Nix's backup was later overturned to a fumble that was recovered deep in Denver territory. Stidham was outside the tackle box, but that wasn't an incomplete pass? The officials clearly thought his arm was moving forward for a throw when they blew the play dead.
Broncos let Patriots tie AFC Championship after controversial Jarrett Stidham fumble
Overturning the ground call is one thing, but to say that Stidham's arm was not moving forward seems to be a huge mea culpa from the officiating, all while handing New England all the momentum they would need to get right back in this game at the worst possible chance.
Denver's defense held Maye and the Patriots to -2 passing yards in the first quarter, as Denver's pass rush has been beating up on a young New England offensive line. Stidham, however, has been a mixed bag.
Stidham has completed 12 of his 21 passes for 123 yards and the touchdown, but he has been sacked three times and missed some easy throws. Nix's ability to avoid negative plays kept the offense humming, and Stidham is struggling in that area.
The Broncos had the opportunity to capitalize on what has been a stellar first half from their defense, but after the Stidham fumble and a missed field goal from Wil Lutz, they will head into the locker room tied at 7-7 as they rue the many missed opportunities they had.