ENGLEWOOD – When Jarrett Stidham went to Target earlier this week, he said nobody recognized him. That will change if he can win a playoff game or two.

Stidham will start at quarterback for the Broncos in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against New England at Empower Field at Mile High due to Bo Nix being out for the season with a broken ankle.

Nix was hurt in overtime in Saturday’s 33-30 win over Buffalo in a divisional playoff game. So Stidham, in his seventh season, will start just his fifth career game.

“I’ve prepared the same every single week like I am the starter,’’ Stidham said after Wednesday’s practice at Broncos Park. “It just hasn’t obviously been that way (most of the time).”

When he met with the media, Stidham first said “this is not about myself” and he expressed his “thoughts and prayers” for Nix. He has spent two seasons as Nix’s backup, and the two are very close.

Nix wrote on social media Tuesday that he “couldn’t be more confident in Jarrett” taking over for him. Stidham showed plenty of appreciation back.

“I know all of us on offense and I know the whole team, we want to go out there and make (Nix) proud this Sunday,’’ Stidham said.

Since Nix was hurt, Broncos coach Sean Payton and many other players have expressed the confidence they have in Stidham taking over. That continued Wednesday.

“He’s a veteran, a real good decision maker, good arm strength,’’ Payton said. “He’s a pro. He’s really in tune (in meetings this week).”

Stidham is in his third season with the Broncos and hasn’t started a game since the 2023 season, when he got the call after Payton benched Russell Wilson for the final two games. Stidham has appeared in four games in the past two seasons in mop-up roles and hasn’t thrown a pass.

But if Stidham is nervous at all with a trip on the line to Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, Calif., he didn’t show it Wednesday.

“Obviously, there are implications and winner advances, all that kind of stuff, but at the end of the day it’s still football,’’ Stidham said. “That’s how I view it. I’m not treating it any differently. I’m not treating my preparation any differently. I’m just going to go out there and play and be myself. I think that’s the biggest thing. I’m not going to try to be somebody that I’m not. I know how I can play, and I know the kind of guys I have around me and the kind of team that we have.”

Adding to the intrigue, Stidham will face his former team. He was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the NFL draft out of Auburn in 2019 and played with them through 2021.

Stidham thought he was in line to be Tom Brady’s replacement when he bolted to Tampa Bay as a free agent in 2020. But the Patriots, then under legendary coach Bill Belichick, opted to bring in veteran Cam Newton just before the start of training camp.

“At the end of the day, obviously I’m very appreciative of New England for giving me a shot in this league, drafting me,’’ Stidham said. “Bill is not there anymore (with Mike Vrabel the coach), but I know there are still front office guys there that were there when I was there. … I’m super appreciative of them for sure, but really just fired up for the opportunity for these guys in this locker room. We’re looking forward to Sunday, and getting out there and seeing what we got.”

The Broncos expect to see a lot from Stidham, who played with Las Vegas in 2022 and started two games before joining the Broncos in 2023. In his first NFL start, for the Raiders in Week 17 in 2022, he threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns against San Francisco.

In the 2025 preseason, Stidham in games against the 49ers and Arizona, completed 30 of 38 passes (78.9%) for 376 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Granted, he faced reserves in those two games, but he led all NFL quarterbacks in preseason with a passer rating of 143.0.

“I think Stiddy is a starter in this league,’’ said backup quarterback Sam Ehlinger. “I think he’s a top-32 quarterback at the beginning of the season. So I got full confidence in him and I’m excited for his opportunity. He’s going to perform well. … He’s really decisive with the football. I think he does a good job of getting it out of his hands. … He’s accurate and the RPMs on the ball, he spins it really pretty.”

Payton expects Stidham to “rip it” Sunday. It was Payton who brought in Stidham after he took over as Denver’s head coach in 2023.

Payton got a good look at Stidham in the final two games of 2023, when he completed 40 of 66 passes (60.6%) for 496 yards with four touchdowns and one interception while the Broncos went 1-1. Stidham was a candidate to be the starter in 2024 until being beaten out by Nix.

“I have no doubt in my mind that Jarrett will be ready to go play,’’ said wide receiver Courtland Sutton, in his eighth Broncos season. “If there is a guy that prepares as well as Bo, it’s him. He goes in and knows the entire playbook.”

When Stidham last started for the Broncos, they were playing out the string in an 8-9 season. Now, he is about to start the biggest game of his NFL career.

In the meantime, Stidham is trying to avoid distractions. While Broncos fans have been showing him plenty of support on social media, Stidham said he has been staying off it. But he did say he’s had “multiple people send me the LeBron (James) meme with the headphones and the sunglasses” that has been posted. He called it “pretty funny.”

If Stidham can lead the Broncos to Super Bowl LX and especially if they win that game, expect his future trips to Target to be a lot different.