The Denver Broncos reached the AFC championship game for the first time since the 2015 season.
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However, they will have to face the winner of the duel between the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans without quarterback Bo Nix.
After Saturday’s 33-30 second-round playoff victory over the Buffalo Bills, head coach Sean Payton said his starter’s season was over due to a broken ankle that will require surgery.
Unless they hire a new quarterback by next Sunday, the Colorado club will trust Jarrett Stidham. The 29-year-old football player has made appearances on the field in 20 NFL games. He’s only gotten four career starts, and the last one came during the 2023 campaign.
If Stidham manages to win the championship match in the American, he will become only the second center in the modern era of the Goodell Tour to win his first start of the season in a playoff duel.
According to the ESPN networksix quarterbacks found themselves in the position of making their first start of the year in a postseason game.
Only Frank Reich managed to win in this situation. He helped the Buffalo Bills overcome a 35-3 third-quarter deficit to defeat the Houston Oilers 41-38 in overtime in a first-round playoff showdown of the 1992 campaign.
The New York State native also won the next game and then gave way to Jim Kelly, the Bills’ regular starter.
Unlike Stidham, Reich had seen action earlier in the season. He had five appearances and thrown 47 passes. The Broncos quarterback has not attempted a pass so far in 2025.
Here are the five other quarterbacks to find themselves in the same situation as Stidham and Reich:
2020: Taylor Heinicke – Washington football team
- 1is elimination round
- 31-23 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 26 passes completed in 44 attempts, 306 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception
2016: Connor Cook – Raiders d’Oakland
- 1er elimination round
- 27-15 loss to the Houston Texans
- 18 passes completed in 45 attempts, 116 yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions
2012: Joe webb – Vikings Dunnesota
- 1is elimination round
- 24-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers
- 11 passes completed in 30 attempts, 180 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception
1983: Gary Danielson – Detroit Lions
- 2e elimination round
- 24-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers
- 24 passes completed in 33 attempts, 236 yards, 0 touchdowns and 5 interceptions
1972: Roger Staubach – Cowboys de Dallas
- National Championship
- 26-3 loss to the Washington Redskins
- 9 completions in 20 attempts, 98 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions
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