Jarrett Stidham isn’t the top quarterback for the Denver Broncos, but he has bested starting QB Bo Nix in one key metric.
Stidham started in place of Nix in the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots on Sunday. Nix, of course, broke his right ankle in a 33-30 win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round and will reportedly need 12 weeks to recover from the injury.
Entering Sunday, Stidham had not started since the 2023 season. Despite that, Broncos head coach Sean Payton let the backup QB chuck the deep ball.
On Denver’s second drive of the game, Stidham completed a 52-yard pass to wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. on a 3rd-and-10 at its 41-yard line. Per Next Gen Stats, the ball traveled 41 yards through the air, the longest completion by air yards by a Broncos QB this season. That set up a six-yard TD pass to WR Courtland Sutton two plays later.