Stidham shines after Nix struggles . . .
That headline appeared last August 10 on an Associated Press game story about the Broncos’ preseason opening 30-19 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
In it, Jarrett Stidham completed 14 of 15 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns and also ran three times for 36 yards, while Bo Nix was 6-for-11 passing for 31 yards and no scores.
The next week, Stidham was 16-for-23 for 240 yards and two more TDs in another warmup win, this one 27-7 0ver Arizona. Nix didn’t take a single snap.
At that point, some in Broncos Country were beginning to wonder if the wrong guy had been designated the No. 1 quarterback.
Stidham had replaced Russell Wilson as Denver’s starter in the final two games of the 2023 season, winning against the Chargers but losing to the Raiders. In those games he completed 40 of 66 passes for 496 yards and two touchdowns.
He was considered the likely starter in 2024 before Sean Payton boldly chose Nix as the 12th player (and sixth quarterback) taken in Round One of the ’24 National Football League Draft.
Payton quickly made Nix the starter, which could have led Stidham to bolt. Instead, he stayed and, after playing only 14 snaps in all of Nix’s rookie season, signed a two-year $12 million contract last March to remain in Denver.
At that time, he presciently told radio station 103.5 The Fox:
“I feel like we’re a team that’s ascending . . . I want to be part of it.”
He also said:
“I’ve loved the time here the last two years, and y’know, I’ve got a great relationship with everyone in the organization. I couldn’t be more excited to get back and get to work with Bo and . . . the rest of the guys.
“Bo and I have become super close . . . we’re just going to continue to grow together on and off the field.”
The next day he posted on X, “It’s the best (quarterbacks) room I’ve ever been a part of, and I’m looking forward to keeping it that way.”
The deal made Stidham one of the highest-paid backups in the league.
Yet in Year One of it, through last Saturday’s Division Round playoff overtime victory over Buffalo, Stidham’s 2025 participation in games that count totaled four snaps at the end of a blowout victory over Dallas back on October 26.
He hasn’t thrown a pass in a regulation game in two seasons. But he been with the Broncos and Payton long enough to know the playbook, and he’s recognized to be an above-average athlete.
Sunday, against Nix contemporary Drake May and the resurgent New England Patriots, for a trip to Super Bowl LX, we find out if the 2025 preseason had any validity at all in demonstrating his ability to lead Denver in a meaningful game.
Nix will be five days removed from season-ending surgery to fix a broken ankle. Sam Ehlinger will be Stidham’s backup.
If you can believe the preseason, the duo of Stidham and Ehlinger puts the Broncos in capable hands.
Stidham completed 30 of 38 passes for 376 yards and four touchdowns, while Ehlinger went 32-for-57 for 415 yards and two scores.
But there won’t be any third-stringers on defense this time of year, no one fighting for a job.
Doesn’t matter, according to Denver’s head coach.
“Stiddy’s ready,” Payton assured after he announced the news of Nix’s injury on Saturday evening.
“I said at the beginning of the season: I’ve got a ‘two’ that’s capable of starting for a handful of teams. I know he feels the same way.”
This turn of events rewards both Stidham and Ehlinger for their loyalty in deciding to stick it out in supporting roles behind Nix. Ehlinger even passed up chances to leave Denver’s practice squad during the season for potential playing elsewhere.
It won’t be easy for either to replace Nix, who played his best game to date in the showdown with Allen and Buffalo last Saturday.
As the game approached, I was asked repeatedly which team I thought would win.
What folks were really asking was, “Which quarterback would you take?”
My considered response was that Allen had proven to be one of the best QBs in the NFL, but Bo Nix had demonstrated an uncanny ability to deliver at crunch time.
“Never bet against a guy who knows how to win,” I concluded.
Last Saturday, Bo Nix was spectacular in leading the Broncos to their 12th one-score victory and fourth fourth-quarter/overtime comeback of the season.
He threw 46 passes and ran 12 times—58 of Denver’s 68 official plays from scrimmage. (Five others were nullified by penalties.) He converted third-down-and-long situations, provoked two pivotal pass interference penalties in the winning overtime drive, and was responsible for only one turnover (compared with Allen’s four).
Now we see what we’ve really got with Jarrett Stidham.
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Denny Dressman writes a weekly sports column for The Villager. You can write to Denny at dennydressman@comcast.net.