Troy Aikman confident in Broncos QB Jarrett Stidham having 'heck of a game' against Patriots

Hall of Famer Troy Aikman is pretty confident in QB Jarrett Stidham in next week’s AFC Championship Game. Stidham will start for the Denver Broncos against the New England Patriots in place of the injured Bo Nix.

A veteran, Stidham has only appeared in one game this season and hasn’t thrown a regular season pass since the 2023 season for the Broncos. Over the course of his career, he’s played for Denver, the Las Vegas Raiders and, ironically, was drafted by the Patriots, playing for them for the first three years of his career.

Nix was revealed to have broken his foot in the win over the Buffalo Bills Saturday, leaving him done for the season. Stidham will have to guide his team in order to get to Super Bowl LX and Aikman stated Sean Payton will have the seventh year quarterback ready.

“I believe Jarrett Stidham is going to come out and have a heck of a game,” Aikman said at the conclusion of the Texans-Patriots Divisional Round game. “I think Sean Payton, we all know him, and what he’s capable of doing within a game plan, I expect he’s going to put something together. And Jarrett Stidham is going to come out and give the New England Patriots all they want. And it’s going to be one heck of an AFC Championship game with both organizations well ahead of their rebuild from when these coaches took over.”

In his career, Stidham is 117-197 passing (59.4%) for 1,422 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. He is 1-3 as a starter, winning his lone game with the Broncos in 2023.

“I’m with you. I think Sean Payton likes a challenge, doesn’t he,” play-by-play man Joe Buck said. “I mean, he wants Bo Nix out there. That’s obvious. But he’s got Jarrett Stidham. He’s been there, he’s been in that system. He will have Jarrett Stidham ready to play to the best of his abilities in that game on Sunday against New England.”

Stidham was a fourth round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Auburn by the Patriots. After starting his career at Baylor (2015) and sitting out in 2016, Stidham took the reins with the Tigers. Over the course of his college career (30 starts, 37 games), Stidham had 7,217 yards, 48 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a 64.3% completion percentage.

“On the second-to-last play of overtime, Bo fractured a bone in his right ankle,” Payton said postgame Saturday. “He’s scheduled to have surgery Tuesday of this week to put him out for the rest of the season. (Jarrett) Stidham is ready to go. And yeah, it was the second-to-last play.”