Jarrett Stidham and I have thrown the same number of passes in the NFL over the last two years. With that lived experience in common, I feel comfortable assuming that we shared the same thought as we separately watched the Patriots beat the Texans on Sunday: Well, this is alarming. The Denver Broncos' ice-cold backup QB, who will be called into service for the AFC Championship Game after Bo Nix got injured defeating the Bills, will have to take his first meaningful snaps since the 2023 season as his top-seeded team tries to fulfill its half of a Stidham-Darnold Super Bowl matchup. Based on what New England did in the divisional round, the prognosis is negative.
Texans fans may have their problems with C.J. Stroud, but at the very least he is a passable NFL starter with three winning seasons under his belt. Except against New England, playing the role Stidham will be forced into next weekend, he looked like he was trying to quarterback with his eyes closed. While the 28-16 final score was a testament to Houston's defense, Stroud's line was horrendous: 20-for-47 with 212 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions. You can all but guarantee that the Pats are going to direct their resources into stopping the run, daring Stidham to make plays with his arm, so three picks or fewer feels like a worthy goal for this outing.
In fairness, Jarrett Stidham wasn't just plucked out of the stands as the winner of a quarterback-the-Broncos contest. He's hung around the NFL for several years since being drafted out of Auburn in the fourth round back in 2019. He's liked well enough in Denver that the Broncos actively chose to re-sign him for two years ahead of the 2025 season. He was "nearly perfect" in this past preseason. He has won an NFL game before: New Year's Eve 2023 against the Chargers, where Stidham contributed to the 16-9 final on a touchdown pass on which Lil'Jordan Humphrey did about 95 percent of the work. And three years ago, the NFL posted a video titled "Jarrett Stidham Played like the Rent was Due!" that showed off his handiwork from a Raiders loss to the 49ers.
On the other hand, this is the entirety of Stidham's highlight reel from the Broncos' season:
"He will be ready to go," said Sean Payton, who continuously referred to his next man up as "Stiddy" over the course of his media session on Sunday. We'll see about that.
Upon hearing the news that the team's understudy would star in a make-or-break performance, I thought back to the one time the Broncos won a playoff game with a quarterback woefully unqualified to be an NFL starter: Tim Tebow, 14 years ago, with what was genuinely an awesome walk-off touchdown in overtime. But does anyone remember the final score of the following week's game? It was Patriots 45, Broncos 10.
This Broncos defense will be working their butts off to try to lower the bar as much as possible for Stidham, so that he only has to avoid mistakes and occasionally find open receivers to keep pace with Drake Maye and the Pats. But I don't think anyone is giving Denver a shot at avoiding a pummeling. At least, not consciously. For as overwhelming as the odds against Stidham seem, all of the non-Patriots fans who tune into this game, or show up at Mile High, are conceding that it's not over yet. To pay attention to the Broncos on Sunday, instead of just assuming the blowout, means you think that maybe, just maybe, Stidham and the defense can find a way to pull the rug out from under New England. Fifteen wins for Denver so far this season have earned them this chance. Until Stiddy starts throwing the ball to the wrong team, that chance remains precious.
