Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos will be without their QB1, Bo Nix, for the remainder of their postseason run. During their divisional round victory over the Buffalo Bills, he broke his ankle, sidelining him for rehabilitation.

Thus, heading into Sunday’s AFC championship game against the New England Patriots, Sean Payton will have to place his faith in backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham. Despite this, former NFL coach Bill Cowher believes that Mike Vrabel and the Patriots should not consider the situation as an advantage.

On Friday, on the “Pat McAfee” show, Cowher praised Jarrett Stidham’s talent as a quarterback. He also said that the Broncos coach would have a plan in place to properly utilize his backup.

“Sean Payton is going to have a plan in place,” Cowher said. “So, you talk about waht you want, they lost the quarterback. But he’s going to be fine with Stidham. Actually, Josh McDaniel knows Stidham very very well, … I don’t think he’s going to give you the outside running that Bo Nix did. But he will be able to stay in that pocket.

Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!

“I think I would be surprised if this is not a close game.”

Jarrett Stidham joined the Denver Broncos on a two-year deal worth $10 million in 2023. Last year in March, he signed a two-year extension worth $12 million, remaining as the backup option on the depth chart.

In three seasons with the Broncos, Stidham has played in seven games and recorded 496 yards and two touchdowns passing. On the other hand, the Patriots enter the game with MVP candidate Drake Maye. This season, he has put up 4,394 yards and 31 TDs passing.

Sean Payton expresses confidence in Jarrett Stidham ahead of AFCCG showdown against the Patriots

Because of his limited playing time, there are a lot of questions regarding the Broncos chances of advancing to Super Bowl LX under Jarrett Stidham.

However, despite these doubts, Sean Payton has absolute confidence in his quarterback. During Friday’s press conference, he had nothing but praise for Jarrett Stidham and is looking forward to his performance against Mike Vrabel’s team.

“I say this respectfully, and I told the team this. I said, I’m not worried about Stiddy in this game. I’m worried about everyone else and how we play. And that’s really the truth.”

The Broncos vs Patriots showdown kicks off at 3 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on CBS and Paramount+.