Broncos dealt stunning blow as they advance to AFC Championship Game
The Broncos will play in the conference championship for the first time in a decade, but at a significant cost.
The road to the Super Bowl goes through Denver. But the Broncos will have to defend their home field without their starting quarterback.
Soon after Denver sealed a 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills Saturday afternoon, clinching its first conference title appearance since the 2015 season, Broncos head coach Sean Payton announced to reporters that quarterback Bo Nix fractured a bone in his ankle late in the game and will undergo season-ending surgery.
In Nix’s place, former Patriots quarterback Jarrett Stidham will start for the Broncos. The AFC Championship will mark his first career playoff start and his first appearance overall.
The Broncos await the winner of Sunday’s AFC divisional round matchup between the Patriots and Texans. Drake Maye and C.J. Stroud will also duel it out to make their first career conference title games. Saturday’s result also means there will be a first-time quarterback in the Super Bowl, from the AFC side. Only the Rams’ Matthew Stafford remains as a starting QB to have appeared in the big game.
