By my count, coach Sean Payton has a 17-4 record in games with backup quarterbacks Taysom “Running Man” Hill, Teddy “Two Gloves” Bridgewater and Jameis “Lord, Please Deliver Me from a Pick-6” Winston. I see the Broncos beating New England 24-16 with backup QB Jarrett Stidham.

– Danny, the sports rabbi

Kiz: Amen, brother. But I’m afraid it might require divine intervention – or at least two turnovers – for a fading Denver defense to beat New England quarterback Drake Maye.

As much fun as it would be for the Cinderella story with Stiddy, I’m afraid the pumpkin arrived last Saturday.

– Walt, realist

Kiz: Welp! And they call me a killjoy. But I’m afraid you might be right. Stiddy will come out slinging. Teammates’ confidence in him is more than a pep talk. But here’s the deal. When evaluating quarterbacks, scouts get obsessed with arm talent and footwork. But what often separates an average NFL quarterback from a guy capable of leading a team to the Super Bowl is the clutch gene. While Nix’s physical gifts aren’t overwhelming, his knack for coming up big in the clutch is world-class. Can Stidham create the same fourth-quarter magic that Nix has used to pull one-score victories out of his hat all season long?

Using Nix on designated runs is going to be a problem for the Broncos in the future.

– Tom, knows what’s up 

Kiz: During my 40-plus years in this crazy business, one of the better pieces of advice I’ve received was from a sports orthopedic physician who told me that an excellent predictor of a future injury is a past injury. Before he broke his ankle on a designated run late in overtime against the Bills, Nix missed time with a fractured leg while in high school in 2017, broke his ankle in 2021 while playing at Auburn, suffered a minor ankle injury during 2022 as Oregon’s quarterback and had clean-up surgery on a troublesome ankle after his rookie season in Denver. Notice a pattern developing? I don’t point it out to be negative, but as a cautionary tale for Broncomaniacs, understandably excited about Nix being the team’s franchise quarterback for the next 10 years. 

I thought that was a catch by Buffalo receiver Brandin Cooks in overtime against Denver. He fell to the ground in possession. The Bills got screwed, in my honest opinion.

– V.L., no dog in the fight

Kiz: On two game-altering plays in the NFL playoffs last weekend, cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian stole an interception for the Broncos, but the refs wouldn’t allow a Chicago Bears defender to do the same thing to Rams receiver Davante Adams. So what did we learn? The concept of “surviving the ground” to complete a catch is open to such wide interpretation that it can put the outcome of a game in the hands of the refs rather than the players. It’s a problem that puts the sport’s integrity in doubt, whether commissioner Roger Goodell wants to admit it or not. If a knowledgeable fan can’t discern how the letter of the law is applied, there might be too many convoluted letters in the law.

And today’s parting shot could be a sign of the times in the crowd at Mile High.

I Bo-lieve in Stiddy.

– Monica, pigskin poet