In case you live under a rock, the Broncos (14-3) are going to be without their starting quarterback heading into Sunday’s AFC Championship Game at Mile High, as Bo Nix broke a bone in his right ankle during the waning moments of his team’s 33-30 divisional round victory in overtime over the Bills (12-5).
In the wake of this shocking injury update, Broncos head coach Sean Payton told the media that Jarrett Stidham would be stepping in as QB1 for Sunday.
“He’s ready," Payton said of the former 4th round pick by the Patriots (14-3) while at the postgame podium on Saturday. "I said this at the beginning of the season - I’ve got a No. 2 that’s capable of starting for a handful, a number of teams. And I know he feels the same way.
“Watch out. Just watch. He’s experienced. He’s played in games.”
Whether it feels dirty to say this or not, New England is catching a massive break with Nix being out of the lineup. There’s a reason why the Patriots are a 5.5-point favorite at FanDuel (-105) as of publishing, despite the franchise being winless all-time at Denver during postseason play.
It may have been a house of horrors for the Patriots of yesteryear, but those home Broncos weren’t fielding starting quarterbacks being asked to throw passes in non-preseason action for the first time in over two calendar years.
As you can imagine, Patriots fans and media alike are about as confident as you can be as Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye hit the road for a chance to play in Super Bowl LX. On top of Nix being out of the lineup, this Patriots team also sports an 8-0 road record for the 2025 season - only the third time the team has done that in franchise history (2007, 2016, 2025).
Pats are gonna roll these guys, right?
Not so fast, says NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran.
The long-time WEEI contributor told Jones and Keefe on Tuesday why the fanbase should not be taking Stidham as lightly as they are as we move closer to Championship Sunday.
“I give him a puncher's chance, is the way to put it,” said Curran. “The Patriots are reasonably favored. If Jarrett Stidham was the drop-off/punchline that he is being portrayed to be by many in the New England media who just really don't know what his skillset is, the Patriots would be 15-point favorites.
“He gives them a puncher's chance. He's got as good an arm as virtually any starter in the league, and I truly mean that. His problem is, when he was with the Patriots - I mean, sometimes it's opportunity, and his opportunity was in 2020, and Bill decided, ‘You know what? I'm going to go with Cam Newton.’ And that was in part because Stidham was a pick-factory during training camp. He injured his knee, Cam came in, he had great presence, [and] he was able to mitigate the problems the Patriots had at their wide receiver core. I think it was Damiere Byrd was their best wide receiver that year. So they were able to mitigate things, because Cam was able to be a running quarterback. So Stidham never really got his opportunity, they draft Mac Jones.
“He is not bad. He is not embarrassing. He could start for teams. He could compete for starting jobs for teams. Denver, as they've said and will continue to say, are lucky to have him. He's not going to play worse than CJ Stroud. The reason - he's going to have an offensive line made up of Quinn Meinerz and Mike McGlinchey and a number of other competent offensive linemen in front of him. So there'll be a puncher's chance. Might he throw and not see Jaylinn Hawkins because he's not played in three years, and Jaylinn Hawkins is lurking in coverage? That might happen, but he is probably going to not embarrass himself.”
With Curran as high on Stidham as he is, Jones asked if a loss to the 29-year-old at Mile High would be a choke by the Patriots.
Even with as good as Curran believes Stidham is, he’s willing to admit that Sunday should be a win for New England. With that said, “choke” is a bridge too far for Curran.
“It will be cripplingly disappointing [if the Patriots lose],” he said. “Choke is a loaded word, so I'm not playing on ‘the choke game.’”
Across 20 career appearances for Stidham, the Auburn-product is 1-3 as a starter with a 59.4% completion percentage. He’s thrown 8 touchdowns, 8 picks, and has a passer rating of 78.3.
Kickoff for Sunday is set for 3:00 p.m. ET, with Westwood One’s national call of the game airing right here on 93.7 WEEI-FM in Boston, as well as across New England on the WEEI Sports Radio Network.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.