Patriots to face former teammate Stidham as Broncos name him starter for AFC championship
The Patriots will meet their former teammate in Denver at the AFC championship game this weekend, after Denver starting quarterback Bo Nix suffered a season-ending injury after their playoff game against the Bills.
Jarrett Stidham, who has only started 4 games in his NFL career, none of which were during the 2025 season, will be the Broncos starting quarterback on Sunday.
First drafted to The Patriots in 2019, he was the backup for quarterbacks Tom Brady, Cam Newton, and Mac Jones. In his time on the New England team, he only made it on the field once.
"A lot of people try to discredit Jarrett Stidham, saying he's never started. He hasn't thrown a pass in like 700 days in the regular season," Brian Babz, who has been following Stidham's career closely and calls himself a 'Stidham hypeman' told NBC10 in an interview. "Anytime he's had an opportunity in the pre-season, he has looked stellar."
"Pre-season, the game is completely different compared to the AFC Championship game," he caveated, but added that "Jarrett has always carried himself with the mentality of 'I'm always going to be ready.'"
"What I always go back to in any game, regular season, pre-season, AFC championship, it's still the same game," Stidham said in a press conference Wednesday. "At the end of the day it's still football."
Babz said that "the Patriots have to earn this win," because the team will "play somewhat of an unknown quarterback that's going to play it loose. He's going to let it rip."
"He's got talent," Babz said. In his time in the NFL, Stidham has been coach by former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and Broncos head coach Sean Payton. "that's some great, great football IQ around him. He's a very smart guy, Babz said,
Payton echoed a similar sentiment in a press conference Wednesday, saying, "I know exactly how he was coached in New England. And then I know how McDaniels felt about him when he brought him from New England to Vegas."
"Ultimately, he will be ready to go and ready for the moment," he said.
