In the recesses of the stadium, a doctor examined the right ankle of Bo Nix, the Broncos’ starting quarterback. Nix had just led Denver to an overtime win over the Buffalo Bills in the NFL playoffs, but he’d left the field limping and in pain.
Jarrett Stidham, Nix’s backup, was there with him. During the season, Stidham said, “I see Bo more than I see my kids.” But even he couldn’t tell how injured Nix was. As Nix went for X-rays, Stidham went to shower and get changed. By the time he returned to the training room, the results had come in. Nix had fractured a bone in his ankle. His season was done.
Suddenly, Stidham was the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos, the No. 1 seed in the AFC. He had about a week to prepare for the AFC championship game, which will take place this Sunday. Stidham and the Broncos will play the Patriots for a spot in the Super Bowl.
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This past week, as Stidham’s story made national headlines, a 60-something-year-old man in Morgantown, West Virginia, was bombarded with messages. He understood why right away.
“As soon as my phone or email blows up, I know somebody has lost a quarterback,” Jeff Hostetler told NBC News. “And somebody is stepping in to see if they can complete the task.”
In December 1990, Giants quarterback Phil Simms broke his foot, forcing Hostetler, the backup, into action. Hostetler won the next five games, including a 20-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl. That game is remembered mostly for the Bills missing a late field goal “wide right,” and for being the second Super Bowl won by Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells.
But New York wouldn’t have won without Hostetler stepping in. That makes him one of the few people, along with the 2017 Eagles’ Nick Foles, who understand what Stidham is going through. “I don’t think people realize how difficult a spot it is,” Hostetler said. “How mentally tough a backup quarterback has to be — to be prepared when the opportunity comes.”
Hostetler had waited a long time for his shot. He played quarterback at West Virginia and was drafted by the Giants in 1984. At the time, Simms had been dealing with injuries and his status with the team was uncertain. But that season, he took control of the starting job. For the next several years, Hostetler seethed on the bench. He couldn’t leave for another team. This was the ’80s, before the start of modern free agency. Player movement was restricted.
Instead, Hostetler offered to play other positions. He says he played a lot on special teams. Once, he blocked a punt. He held the ball on field goal tries. “I did everything I could to get out on the field,” Hostetler said. “I just wanted to get out on the field and contribute.”
By 1990, Hostetler was fed up. He still remembers the breaking point. “It was like a Wednesday after practice,” he said. “No reps, no anything.” He told his wife he was ready to retire. “I didn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “I just told her, at the end of the season, I’m done. We’ll figure something else out. But I just can’t keep doing that.”
A few days later, Simms got hurt. Six weeks after that, Hostetler said, “I was standing at a podium with two of my sons and my pregnant wife, and we’d just won the Super Bowl. The Lord had different plans for me.”
If that weren’t remarkable enough, Hostetler later revealed that he had torn his ACL in the NFC championship game — and still played in the Super Bowl.
As a starter, Hostetler pointed out, you can make a mistake, play a poor game and still have a chance to redeem yourself the following week. “As a backup, you’re judged right away on a few plays, a few opportunities, without repetitions,” he said. “You’ve always got to be prepared. You’re looking for that opportunity, and you’ve got to be mentally tough.”
Watching from afar, Hostetler said he and Stidham seemed to have “very similar” experiences to this point. Like Hostetler, Stidham has spent years in the NFL waiting his turn.
The Patriots, of all teams, actually drafted Stidham in 2019, in the fourth round, out of Auburn. His rookie year overlapped with Tom Brady’s last season in New England. “Jarrett got to sit with him and learn and see what it’s like,” David Andrews, the former Patriots center, told NBC News. “Getting to soak up whatever you can … that’s such a great experience.”
For three years in New England, Stidham didn’t play much. Then Josh McDaniels, the offensive coordinator, was hired as the head coach of the Raiders — and he acquired Stidham via trade. A year after that, Sean Payton, the Broncos’ coach, signed Stidham as a free agent. McDaniels and Payton are both considered top offensive minds, and both had seen something in Stidham. “He’s played in only two systems,” Andrews said. “Two of the best systems in the NFL.”
Even so, Stidham has never really been given the leeway of a starting quarterback. He sat behind Derek Carr in Las Vegas, and Russell Wilson and now Bo Nix in Denver. Over his first seven years, Stidham has started just four games. In those situations, he has completed 62.5% of his passes for 270 yards per game, six touchdowns and four interceptions. He has good size and he’s shown some athleticism, making plays with his legs, throwing on the run. But he hasn’t thrown a pass in a regular-season game since 2023.
When Nix went down last week, Payton didn’t waste any time. He arrived at his postgame press conference, announced Nix’s injury and immediately named Stidham the starter. Denver had built its team around defense, its offensive line and smart play from Nix. Now, Payton had a week to design a plan for Stidham, against his former team, in the biggest game of his life.
“Stiddy is ready to go,” Payton said. “I feel like I’ve got a [backup quarterback] that’s capable of starting for a handful — a number of teams. And I know he feels the same way.”
All week, Stidham has seemed at ease. As a backup, he’s been described as a “vibes guy,” someone who keeps the mood light around the team. “I like to keep the vibes high in the locker room and hopefully bring that to the huddle on Sunday,” Stidham said. “We’re playing in the AFC championship. We’re one of the last four teams playing. Like, what’s not fun about this?”
Stidham has said all the right things — that he’s preparing the same as always, that he’s ignoring the stakes. “I’m just going to go out there and play and be myself,” he said Wednesday. “I know how I can play. I know the kind of guys I have around me, and the kind of team that we have. We all just have to play within ourselves.”
Once upon a time, Bill Parcells had said the same thing to Jeff Hostetler.
“My job was, as Parcells would say: ‘Play within yourself,’” Hostetler said this week. “I always thought of that as a cut, like he was making a dig somewhere. In reality, it was a call for everyone: Do your job. … You don’t have to do anybody else’s job. Just do your job.”
It just so happens that Sean Payton’s mentor is … Bill Parcells. Payton spoke with Parcells multiple times this week. Did they discuss having to play a backup quarterback in a high-leverage situation, like Parcells had all those years ago? “Obviously, that topic came up,” Payton said.
On Thursday morning, Hostetler received a call out of the blue.
“Hey, I’m mad at you,” a voice said.
It was Parcells.
“I’ve had to take so many phone calls because of what you did.”
They both started laughing.
“I’m thinking to myself, ‘Oh, that’s good. Because I’ve been mad at you for a long time,’” Hostetler said, for keeping him on the bench.
Parcells and Hostetler hadn’t really stayed in touch over the years. “I wasn’t one of his guys while we were playing,” Hostetler said.
They had a short conversation on the phone. As Hostetler recalled, “He said, ‘I just wanted you to know, people don’t realize how difficult that was to accomplish what you did.’ He just wanted me to know that he knew it, that he recognized it, and he appreciated it. I had five games in a row to win — to win that Super Bowl.”
After they won Super Bowl XXV, Parcells and Hostetler never really talked about the ride, what they achieved together, not until much later. “Those are big words coming from Parcells,” Hostetler said. “To have your coach come back and say it — it put a smile on my face.”
