DENVER — Few are giving the Broncos much of a chance in the AFC Championship against the New England Patriots, after quarterback Bo Nix broke his ankle in Denver’s Divisional Round win over Buffalo.
The sports books don’t have much faith in the Broncos with backup Jarrett Stidham at the helm. According to ESPN Bet, the Broncos are the biggest home underdog in a conference championship since the AFL/NFL merger more than a half-century ago.
And, if Denver7’s ABC counterparts at WCVB in Boston are any indication, the TV pundits in Pats Nation agree. They invited Denver7 Sports Director Lionel Bienvenu to talk about the matchup live on the air Monday.
“Jarrett Stidham was so bad here in New England, on a bad football team, Bill Belichick went out and signed Cam Newton, who can't throw the ball 10 yards,” WCVB Lead Sports Anchor Duke Castiglione said before posing the question: “How can the Broncos win this game?”
Stidham was drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft and had a pedestrian stat line in two years as New England’s backup: 24-of-48 passing for 270 yards, 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions across eight games with no starts.
He’s improved since his rookie and sophomore seasons, Lionel said, and has become one of the most popular players in the Broncos locker room who teammates will rally around. And, most of all, he doesn’t have to become Bo Nix.
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“He just needs to take the wheel, keep the machine on the road, let the defense do their thing – one of the best defenses in the NFL,” Lionel said. “[The Broncos should] run the ball – JK Dobbins might be back for this game – and just not expect Jarrett to do too much.”
“All the motivation is in that Broncos locker room right now to come up and play the game of the year at Empower Field behind me on Sunday,” he added.
- Watch their full conversation, including Lionel's story about how he threw passes to Peyton Manning, in the video player below: