Once a Baylor starter, Jarrett Stidham will start the AFC Championship for Denver after an injury sidelined Bo Nix.
WACO, Texas — Former Baylor University quarterback Jarrett Stidham will start Sunday in the AFC Championship Game with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line after Broncos starter Bo Nix suffered a season-ending broken ankle in Denver’s divisional playoff win over the Buffalo Bills.
Stidham, who transferred from Baylor after his freshman season to play two years at Auburn University, was thrust into the spotlight after Nix’s injury late in overtime of Saturday’s 33-30 victory. Nix, the Broncos’ star signal-caller, fractured his right ankle, ending his season and leaving Denver’s Super Bowl hopes in the hands of Stidham.
The 29-year-old Stidham, who started his NFL career as a fourth-round pick (133rd overall) of the New England Patriots in the 2019 draft, has served as a career backup with stops in New England and with the Las Vegas Raiders before joining the Broncos.
A Baylor product in 2015, Stidham played in 10 games with the Bears, completing 75 of 109 passes for 1,265 yards and 12 touchdowns before transferring to Auburn, where he threw for nearly 6,000 yards and 36 touchdowns over two seasons.
Though he has appeared in 19 NFL games with four career starts and never before thrown a playoff pass, Broncos coach Sean Payton expressed confidence in Stidham’s ability to lead Denver to the Super Bowl. “He’s ready to go,” Payton said.
The Broncos will face the New England Patriots, the franchise that drafted Stidham, at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday. A victory would send Denver to the Super Bowl, making Stidham the first Bears QB to ever start in a Super Bowl.