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Jeff Legwold
DENVER — Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham found out just how rugged uncharted football ground can be.
The 29-year-old backup was shoved into the starting lineup for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game after Bo Nix fractured an ankle in the closing moments of Denver’s divisional round win over the Buffalo Bills last weekend. But the excitement of a potential Super Bowl trip hanging in the balance of his fifth career start was lost in the swirl of a second-half snowstorm and the Patriots’ defense as New England left town with a 10-7 win.
«It was fun to get back out there with the guys,» said Stidham, who was 17-of-31 passing for 133 yards. «Moments like this, this is why you play the game, why you grow up and play the game of football, all the long hours that you put into it. … This is why we do what we do. … I was super excited for the opportunity, just hate that we fell short.»
Dallas Cowboys in Week 8 — and before Sunday had not thrown a pass in the regular season since the final two games of 2023 when he started in place of the benched Russell Wilson.
It was a tall order against Patriots team that had surrendered two touchdowns total in its first two playoff games.
«I thought he fought hard in tough conditions,» coach Sean Payton said of Stidham. «I think we’re going to look at the film, and I know I’m going to look at it and be critical of myself. There were a number of things we had to do better. We didn’t finish some runs, we dropped some passes again, and that was a problem all year. And when we had the momentum, we didn’t … come away with enough having had the momentum and that field position.»
The first two possessions of the second quarter tipped the scales New England’s way, and Stidham and the Broncos never could tip them back.
On their first possession of the second quarter, the Broncos failed to convert a fourth-and-1 from the Patriots’ 14-yard line when Stidham was pressured by New England’s front and threw incomplete.
On their next possession, the Broncos, with a 7-0 lead, had a third-and-4 from their own 33 with two minutes, 59 seconds left in the first half. Under duress again, Stidham retreated well inside the Broncos’ 20 and tried to throw the ball away to avoid a sack. Officials initially ruled the pass incomplete but also threw a flag for intentional grounding. However, after a brief discussion on the field, referee Alex Kemp announced the play was ruled a backward pass that the Patriots had recovered at the Broncos’ 12.
«I initially ruled it as a forward pass, which was incorrect,» Kemp said via a pool report after the game. «I proceeded to go through the administration of an intentional grounding foul. The down judge and the umpire came and talked to me and provided more information. The down judge explained that he extended his right arm to signal that he had a backward pass and at that point we determined that New England had picked up the then backward pass. We awarded possession to New England with no advance.»
The Patriots scored two plays later to tie the game at 7 just before halftime.
«I can’t put our team in a bad position like that,» Stidham said. «I was trying to throw it away. … He just got up on me, like I said; I just can’t put the ball in a position like that. That was completely on me.»
Asked if he believed it was a backward pass, Stidham added: «I thought I had thrown it forward, but obviously the replay or whatever said differently. Probably should have just eaten the sack anyway and let [punter] Jeremy (Crawshaw) and the punt team punt it down the field and flip the field. Like I said, I can’t do that.»
The Broncos didn’t have a possession that went for longer than 17 yards in the second half, when they gained just 32 net yards with one first down. Stidham threw an interception on the Broncos’ final offensive play of the game.
Nix was in the locker room following the game, and Stidham said he spoke to him briefly.
«[The Broncos’ defense] played their tails off; it was pretty remarkable to see. … What they were able to do tonight was super impressive,» Stidham said. «… I just felt like whenever I gave them a short field, really hard for me to swallow that one, because I just put them in a terrible spot.»
