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Broncos fans don’t blame Stidham, optimistic for future

By January 25, 2026 | updated 2 hours ago

Broncos fans leave the Denver Union Station AFC Championship game watch party after the Broncos lost. (Sage Kelley, The Denver Gazette).

Falling snow acted as an excuse for the tears of Broncos fans.

Fans sporting snow-covered jerseys trudged away from Empower Field at Mile High or local haunts Sunday afternoon after the Broncos fell short (or left) to the New England Patriots 10-7 in the AFC Championship Game.

But the hope after the 14-3 regular-season record remains, with the fans now facing the next season — and possibly the next championship match.

“We’ll have a good shot at it,” Pete Gomez, a fan of the team for over 60 years, said about next season. “We’ll have our quarterback back. We’ll have our running back back.”

Gomez joined around 100 fans at Denver Union Station, where the transportation hub held a free watch party for the game.

Eager eyes were glued to the various screens throughout the lobby, nervously watching as 29-year-old Jarrett Stidham looked destiny in the face — becoming the second quarterback in NFL history to take snaps in a championship game after not playing a single down in the regular season.

In fact, he had only started four games in his career before taking the frosty field.

“I didn’t even know who he was,” Juan Dominguez laughed.

Stidham completed just 17 of 31 passes for 133 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

As fans know, the inexperienced quarterback was tossed into the fray after starter Bo Nix injured his ankle last week, but fans did not blame Stidham for the loss — they mostly blamed coach Sean Payton.

“(Stidham) did alright. I mean, he hasn’t thrown in how long? He did good,” Gomez said. “But we should have never went for the fourth down in the first quarter. That was the turning point.”

The Broncos went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Patriots’ 14-yard line. Stidham immediately faced pressure, rolling to the right and throwing a short incompletion to running back RJ Harvey.

Broncos fans watching the AFC Championship loss to the New England Patriots at Union Station. (Sage Kelley, The Denver Gazette).

“I think they were outcoached,” Rocky Lucero, a fan for nearly 60 years, said. “You go for it instead of taking the points with Stidham, who has barely played. That’s getting outcoached.”

Others, like Dominguez, said the deflected field goal was the big turning point. Kicker Wil Lutz had a 45-yard attempt blocked by defensive lineman Leonard Taylor with about 5 minutes left in the game. The kick would have tied the game 10-10.

A collective sigh flooded Union Station when the kick flicked left of the goalpost. Some fans began to pack up.

The rare Patriots fans cheered, like Cassidy Morneau and Corey Dezzit, who are from Connecticut but recently moved out to Colorado. They had been at the game prior to, searching for warmth at Union Station after things seemed wrapped up.

“Everybody has been mean,” Dezzit joked. “They’re just prideful about their team. I get it.”

And that pride will continue, even after the wind-whipped loss.

“It’s such a longshot,” Lucero said about returns to the championship round next year. “You’ve got to stay healthy. Bo Nix has to stay healthy. But we can do it. If Nix was healthy today, we would have won.”

Sage Kelley

Reporter

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