This weekend’s NFL playoff schedule features two of the best matchups yet. The winners head to the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium. Losers will obviously have to watch from home. Yet, the Denver Broncos don’t have any plans to watch from home.
Of the four teams competing this weekend, the Broncos are the biggest long shots. As of right now, the betting spread has the New England Patriots as 4.5-point favorites. That’s despite the Broncos having home-field advantage.
Of course, not having starting quarterback Bo Nix after he suffered a season-ending ankle fracture in last week’s win won’t help matters. Not to mention, the Broncos are starting Jarrett Stidham, a QB with just four NFL starts in his career, and he hasn’t thrown a pass in a live regular season game since 2023.
Yet, despite facing those long odds, Broncos head coach Sean Payton hasn’t lost any confidence in his team. In fact, when given a chance to address the media on Thursday, coach Payton guaranteed a victory by letting Broncos fans know that they can exert all their energy in cheering Denver on, because “They’re going to have a lot of rest after this one. Two weeks.”
Sean Payton wants Broncos fans to be loud again this week in the AFC Championship Game…
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) January 22, 2026
“They’re going to have plenty of rest after this one. Two weeks.”
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That’s a very bold statement to make when their starting quarterback has won just one of his four starts. If Stidham can win on Sunday, it will easily be the biggest victory of his football career, and his head coach has all the confidence in the world that he can get the job done.
Related: Former All-Pro CB Suggests Denver Broncos’ QB Replacement for Bo Nix
