(Photo credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images)

Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi found out about his starting quarterback's fractured ankle when his son told him on their drive home from Sunday's game.

'I didn't believe him,' Lombardi said, 'but I got it confirmed.'

That's how suddenly the news hit after the Broncos' 33-30 overtime win over Buffalo in the divisional round. Several players and coaches had left the stadium when head coach Sean Payton trotted back out to deliver the bad news about Bo Nix.

It puts career backup Jarrett Stidham in the eye of the storm when the Broncos take on the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.

Payton has been vocal about the belief Denver holds in Stidham, who hasn't started a game since 2023.

'Obviously it means a lot anytime you step into a situation like this,' Stidham said Thursday. 'For myself, I just want to go out there and play the absolute best I can for the guys in this locker room. That's all I really care about. So yes, it's great to obviously have the support of the guys around me. Thankfully, I have a ton of amazing guys, amazing human beings in the locker room, but also amazing football players, so really excited.'

Of Stidham's four career starts, two came with the Broncos in 2023 in place of an injured Russell Wilson. He hasn't thrown a pass in a regular-season game since the end of that season, and he has not taken a snap in the playoffs.

'I think we'll just see how the game unfolds,' Stidham said of getting in a rhythm against the Patriots, the team that drafted him in 2019. 'That's obviously up to Sean, how he wants to call the game to start out.

'Just really excited to get out there, and I think once the ball is snapped, that first play, it's just football at that point so it'll be fun.'

Payton believes Stidham holds one similarity to longtime NFL quarterback Mark Brunell.

'I'm not making the comparison, but Brunell had this calmness about him when he was our (backup),' Payton said. '... Brunell just had that moxie, and so if it wasn't your starter and he stepped in, there was this smooth operation. I would say Stidham has that ability to step right in, calm things down, here's what we're doing, break the huddle. (Wednesday's) practice was a perfect indication of it.'

Just because Stidham has less experience in high-pressure situations doesn't mean the Patriots will necessarily pressure him more, Lombardi said.

'I'm not sure they'll look at Jarrett and say they want to pressure him more than another quarterback,' he said. 'You're always preparing in your mind for if a team really starts gassing you up in that way, so you always try to have a plan for that.

'This is going to be the biggest game most of these guys have been a part of in their career, so we're expecting to be at our best.'

--Field Level Media