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Broncos backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham’s wife said things have been heavy since starter Bo Nix suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Denver’s overtime win against the Bills in Saturday’s Divisional Round game.
Stidham, 29, will get his first postseason start for the Broncos in the AFC Championship game against the Patriots next Sunday.
“Absolute whirlwind of emotions after the game last night,” Kennedy Stidham wrote Sunday in an Instagram Story post.
“Ultimately so proud of these boys & what they have accomplished this so far. do it for 10!!!!”
Kennedy also reshared a photo of Stidham that said, “Do it for Bo.”
Nix suffered a fractured ankle on a first-and-10 from the Buffalo 36-yard line with just over six minutes left to play in overtime of Denver’s 33-30 win over Buffalo.
He will undergo season-ending surgery Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama.
Nix finished 26-for-46 passing with 279 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
Stidham appeared in one game this season, the Broncos’ 44-24 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8.
He has appeared in 20 games with four starts over his seven NFL seasons, but never a playoff contest.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton explained Sunday that he is more than confident Stidham is ready for the moment.
“I know how he was coached in New England. I know exactly how he was coached in New England,” Payton said. “And then I know how [Patriots OC Josh] McDaniels felt about him … but ultimately … it’s our three years here, our three years watching him day in and day out that you guys don’t have access to. He will be ready to go, and ready for the moment.
“One of Stiddy’s great strengths is his mental aptitude and his progressions and understanding play. There would be practices I’m looking at [DC] Vance [Joseph] getting pissed off because Stiddy’s making our defense look bad. He’s very accurate. He’s got a lot to his ball.”
Stidham went 1-1 in his last regular-season starts in the final two games of the 2023 season for Denver, when he filled in for a benched Russell Wilson.
A 2019 fourth-round pick, Stidham signed with the Broncos a month after they hired head coach Sean Payton in Feb. 2023.
Denver re-signed the veteran signal-caller to a two-year contract last March.
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