New England Patriots
“I’m not worried about Stiddy in this game.”
Sean Payton wants to make it clear: He’s comfortable with Jarrett Stidham starting in place of injured Bo Nix at quarterback for the Broncos in Sunday’s AFC title game against the Patriots.
The Broncos’ head coach not only reiterated his faith in Stidham when he met with reporters on Friday, but he also challenged the rest of his team to meet the moment in Sunday’s game.
“I say this respectfully and I told the team this, I said, ‘I’m not worried about Stiddy in this game. I’m worried about everyone else, and how we play.’ And that really is the truth,” Payton told reporters.
Stidham will be making his first start since he replaced Russell Wilson for the Broncos at the end of the 2023 season on Sunday. In fact, he hasn’t thrown a pass since then, as he’s only replaced Nix in garbage time situations since then.
But Payton has expressed confidence in Stidham from the moment he surprisingly announced Nix’s season-ending ankle injury last Saturday. He immediately said, “Stiddy’s ready to go,” when he met with reporters last weekend, seemingly shutting down any idea that the Broncos would take drastic measures to add another quarterback for Sunday’s game.
While Payton’s confident statements in Stidham aren’t necessarily a surprise, he isn’t the only notable person who has faith in the veteran backup quarterback for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. Former Broncos quarterback and long-time Patriots rival Peyton Manning, who still has close ties to the Denver organization, also believes in Stidahm to win Sunday’s game over New England.
“He’s a great guy. Look, he’s very confident because he puts the work in,” Manning told 104.3 The Fan in Denver. “Obviously, he hasn’t been on the field, and he’s not trying to make you think he’s played more than he has. He’s honest about how much he’s played. But you hear his teammates talk about how hard he prepares, so I think he’s able to play all season because he puts the time in.”
Manning also likes that Payton can play the underdog card for the Broncos against the Patriots, who are 3.5-point favorites, on Sunday as well.
“I think Sean’s gonna rally the troops,” Manning said. “I think the fact the Broncos are underdogs, Sean’s gonna use that to the Broncos advantage and kind of tell the team that nobody thinks they can win.
“Don’t hold anything back in this game. You’ve got a good play, you’ve got a trick play, you’ve got something you think might work, go for it. Because it’s a long offseason if you don’t win this game, so might as well go for it.”
The Broncos have played well as underdogs this season. They’re 5-1 in games they aren’t the favorite in. Their only loss came back in Week 3 against the Chargers. Their latest upset win came over the Bills last weekend, when they were 1.5-point underdogs at home.
Outside of Denver, there are some people who have faith in Stidham as well. Former Patriots quarterback Cam Newton, who was a teammate of Stidham’s for a little more than a year in New England, thinks that the Broncos quarterback has the football IQ to get the job done on Sunday. However, Newton also questions whether Stidham will be able to play off script.
“The issue was how does [Stidham’s football IQ] translate to the game,” Newton said on ESPN’s “First Take” on Friday. “Then, you start to say, ‘Hey, how does Jarrett Stidham handle the what-ifs?’ What if his first option is not there? What if the pocket collapses? What if it’s not a perfect situation for him to be good or great? That’s my biggest question mark.
“Does he have the skillset? Yes. Can he make all the throws? Yes. But there’s something about the what-ifs that concerns me the most as the game approaches.”
Sunday will mark the fifth start for Stidham in his career. He’s 1-3 all-time, posting two starts with the Raiders in 2022 before making two starts with the Broncos in 2023.
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