Former Patriots quarterback Jarrett Stidham gets long-awaited opportunity stepping in for injured Broncos starter Bo Nix

New England Patriots

The game will feature the only two people who Stidham has taken play calls from, the Broncos’ Sean Payton and the Patriots’ Josh McDaniels.

By Keith Pearson, The Boston Globe

January 22, 2026 | 9:23 AM

3 minutes to read

Even though Jarrett Stidham has only taken 14 snaps — four of which were simply taking a knee — since the end of training camp last season when he was beaten out for the Broncos’ starting quarterback position by Bo Nix, Stidham has never dimmed in his view that he has what it takes to be a starter in the NFL.

He will get that opportunity on the biggest stage Sunday when Denver hosts the Patriots in the AFC Championship game.

With Nix recovering from surgery to repair the broken right ankle he suffered during overtime of a divisional-round win over the Bills on Saturday, Stidham will get a chance to throw his first pass for the Broncos in a game that counts since the final two weeks of 2023 when he stepped in for an ineffective Russell Wilson. Denver still had a slim chance to make the playoffs at the time, and Stidham was 20-for-32 passing for 224 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers in a 16-9 win over the Chargers in Week 17. The Broncos were eliminated that day, however, as other results they needed failed to materialize.

“I think every week going back to when I was backing up Russ, I’ve prepared the same every single week like I am the starter, just hasn’t obviously been that way, minus two weeks,” Stidham said Wednesday. “My preparation hasn’t changed one bit.”

This time is different, however, with the winner earning a spot in Super Bowl LX.

A solid showing Sunday against a Patriots defense that has nine sacks and forced six turnovers while only allowing 19 points in playoff wins over the Chargers and Texans, could be the type of game that gets Stidham in the mix of being that No. 1 QB for another team in the league. Nonetheless, he’s not looking past the AFC Championship.

“I’m not focused on anything but Sunday,” Stidham said. “What is my job on each and every play? How can I help my teammates succeed on Sunday?

“I do not care about anything outside of the next five days and what my job is, so that’s the only thing I’m focused on.”

The game will feature the only two people who Stidham has taken play calls from, the Broncos’ Sean Payton and the Patriots’ Josh McDaniels, who was the offensive coordinator when New England used a fourth-round pick on the quarterback out of Auburn and then his head coach with the Raiders in 2022.

Last offseason, the Patriots were interested in a reunion with Stidham as a backup to Drake Maye, but the 29-year-old signed a two-year deal to remain with the Broncos.

“There was a combination of things that went into my decision to come back here,” he said. “I believe in Sean and [quarterback coach] Davis [Webb] and [offensive coordinator] Joe [Lombardi] and in our room, and being behind Bo, and helping him grow. I take a lot of pride in that.

“I felt like over the last two years that I was here that I got a lot better. I think the way Davis has coached us over those last over these last three years now has really helped all of us improve. That’s just one thing I wanted to come back and be a part of and I felt like being here the last two years and coming in with Sean and signing and everything. It’s pretty evident that he’s got the train rolling in the right direction, and I don’t think anybody can argue that. And I wanted to be a part of it.”