DENVER — Broncos fans went from ecstasy to heartache Saturday night, when news broke following a thrilling 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills that quarterback Bo Nix suffered a season-ending ankle injury.
Their hopes now lie with backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who will take the helm for his first start of the season in the AFC Championship game.
While there’s no magic elixir to cure the doldrums that come with losing the starting quarterback who’s led the team to 15 wins and a conference title game berth, I can offer you a small dose of solace:
A backup QB won a Super Bowl not all that long ago.
Many will remember Nick Foles’s legendary run to a Super Bowl in the 2017-18 season. And while the circumstances don’t exactly match those of the 2025-26 Broncos, there are similarities.
Foles took the helm of the Philadelphia Eagles offense after Carson Wentz tore his ACL in December. Wentz was a standout second-year player and a highly-touted draft pick two offseasons prior (No. 2 overall in 2016) like Nix (No. 12 overall in 2024).
Wentz was 11-2 as the starter before he went down. Foles played the final three games of the regular season – winning two before a meaningless finale – and three postseason games culminating in a Lombardi Trophy.
Philadelphia had earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye with a 13-3 record. Foles completed 23 of 30 passes for 246 yards in a 15-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Divisional Round. Then he turned on the jets.
The day after his 29th birthday – Stidham is now 29, by the way – Foles torched the Minnesota Vikings for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns while completing nearly 79% of his passes in a 38-7 blowout win in the conference title game.
He threw for 373 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception on 28-of-43 passing – and even caught a one-yard touchdown on the iconic "Philly Special" play – in a 41-33 thriller against Tom Brady’s New England Patriots to win Super Bowl LII in one of the most memorable championship runs in recent sports memory. Foles was named Super Bowl MVP.
Foles was in his sixth NFL season. Stidham is a sixth-year pro this season, though he has much less experience under his belt as an NFL starter than Foles had when he took the reins of the Eagles offense 8 years ago.
I can’t sit here and tell you I’m confident Stidham will bring the Lombardi to Denver. But I’m saying there’s a chance.