Bo Nix ankle injury: How Broncos QB Jarrett Stidham will ...

What’s Happening

Not gonna lie, Nix suffered a season-ending ankle injury on the second-to-last play of Denvers playoff win vs.

Buffalo Bo Nix ankle injury: How Broncos QB Jarrett Stidham will need to defy history to win AFC Championship Nix suffered a season-ending ankle injury on the second-to-last play of Denver’s playoff win vs. Buffalo By Tyler Sullivan Jan 18, 2026 at 12:56 pm ET • 8 min read Join the Conversation comments Jarrett Stidham , step right up. (we’re not making this up)

The Broncos quarterback is now in line to start in the AFC Championship next Sunday after starter Bo Nix suffered a fracture in his right ankle during Denver’s overtime win against the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round.

The Details

Nix’s injury will require surgery and sideline him for the rest of the season, meaning it’ll be up to Stidham to help Denver advance to Super Bowl LX and possibly hoist its first Lombardi Trophy in a decade. That’s a mighty tall order for the 29-year-old, who has just four career starts under his belt.

Stidham’s last regular-season pass in the NFL came all the way back in Week 18 of the 2023 campaign. Now, he’ll be entrusted with a team that earned the No.

Why This Matters

1 seed in the conference and boasts one of the top defenses in the league. But, that clutched’t mean anything if Stidham can’t answer the bell, but there does appear to be internal confidence in the veteran quarterback. Six wild QB options for Broncos after shocking Bo Nix injury: Tom Brady can’t play, but two other MVPs could John Breech “I would say this, in fairness to what you’ve seen, which is limited: He’s ready,” head coach Sean Payton told reporters of Stidham, via the official team site .

This is the kind of move that can define a season.

Key Takeaways

I dropped this at the beginning of the season, I feel like I’ve got a [No.
2 quarterback] that’s capable of starting for a number of teams, and I know he feels the same way.
He’s experienced, he’s played in games.
They’re different type players to some degree.