The No. 12 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Nix, 25, has led Denver to a playoff quarterback, with Saturday’s win his first of the postseason. Nix was 26 of 46 (56.5%) for 279 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for a season-high 29 yards.
For the season, Nix completed 388 of his NFL-high 612 pass attempts for 3,931 yards, 25 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and added 356 yards and five touchdowns.
The AFC title game will be the first game Nix misses in his short NFL career, which began with 36 consecutive starts, including playoff games.
Stidham’s veteran backup will step in, look to make his first playoff game and start.
The 29-year-old Stidham was a fourth-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2019 and also played with the Las Vegas Raiders before joining the Broncos. He is in his third season in head coach Sean Payton’s offense, but has not started since Week 18 of the 2023 campaign when he was named the team’s starter on Russell Wilson’s bench.
Stidham appeared in just one game last regular season, which came in Week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys. He threw no passes and played four snaps. He hasn’t thrown an official pass since Week 18 of the 2023 season in his aforementioned previous start.
Stidham and the Broncos kick off against the Patriots at 3:00 PM ET Sunday.