Saturday’s stunning AFC division-round game between the Bills and Broncos carried an even more stunning post-script.
Denver quarterback Bo Nix has a broken ankle, and he’s done for the year.
Enter Jarrett Stidham, a 29-year-old career backup who has four career starts in seven NFL seasons.
And if the Patriots beat the Texans to advance to the AFC Championship, Stidham will be facing the team that made him a fourth-round pick in 2019, Tom Brady’s final year in New England.
Stidham played sparingly during his three years with the Patriots. In 2020, Cam Newton started 15 games, with Brian Hoyer starting one. In 2021, Stidham missed much of the season after offseason back surgery, eventually landing at No. 3 on the depth chart, behind Mac Jones and Hoyer.
Stidham was traded to the Raiders in 2022. He started two late-season games after Derek Carr was benched for financial reasons. A year later, in his first year with the Broncos, Stidham started two late-season games after Russell Wilson was benched for financial reasons.
Next Sunday, Stidham will have the biggest start of his career, by far. And it could come against the team that drafted him and employed him for three seasons. Or, alternatively, he’ll be facing the best defense in the entire NFL.
Texans Clips
Bo Nix didn’t miss a play during Saturday’s wild 33-30 overtime win over the Bills. The Broncos quarterback, though, will miss the AFC Championship Game.
Broncos coach Sean Payton announced that Nix fractured his right ankle, which will require surgery and will end his second season. Dr. Norman Waldrop will perform the surgery in Alabama.
Jarrett Stidham is the Broncos’ backup, with Sam Ehlinger behind him.
“It’s not good news,” Payton said. “On the second-to-last play in overtime, Bo fractured a bone in his right ankle. He’s scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday of this week, which will put him out for the rest of the season. [Stidham] is ready to go.”
Nix had a kneel down after a deep pass to Marvin Mims that drew a 30-yard interference penalty to set up the game-winning field goal.
Nix did not celebrate as if he had led his team to the AFC Championship Game afterward, and CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson tweeted after the game that “Nix got hurt at the end of the game. . . . Something to watch.”
Payton had already finished his postgame news conference but returned to share the bad news.
“It is what it is, and we felt it would be best to tell everyone now,” Payton said.
Nix went 26-of-46 for 279 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
The Texans will not have their top wideout for Sunday’s game in New England, but the Patriots will have their top cornerback.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said at his press conference that Christian Gonzalez was considered questionable to play as he worked his way back from a concussion, but the team’s final injury report shows that he has cleared the protocol and no longer has an injury designation. The Texans ruled wide receiver Nico Collins out with a concussion.
Edge rusher Harold Landry (knee) did not practice on Friday and is listed as questionable. Running back Terrell Jennings (concussion) is also carrying a questionable tag into the weekend.
Jennings and cornerback Alex Austin (wrist) remain on injured reserve. Austin has no injury designation and the Patriots have an open spot on their 53-man roster.
The Texans will be missing their top receiver when they try to upset the Patriots in New England on Sunday afternoon.
The team announced that Nico Collins has been ruled out on Friday. Collins suffered a concussion in the team’s 30-6 win over the Steelers on Monday night in the wild card round and he was not able to practice at all this week.
Collins had 71 catches for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns in the regular season. Christian Kirk had a strong game against the Steelers and the Texans will need him to produce again this weekend.
Right tackle Trent Brown (ankle) returned to practice on Friday and is listed as questionable to play. Wide receiver Justin Watson has been ruled out with a concussion.
Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez returned to full practice participation on Thursday, but he hasn’t been written into the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Texans just yet.
Gonzalez entered the concussion protocol after being injured in last Sunday’s win over the Chargers and head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Friday that Gonzalez will be listed as questionable for this weekend. The team could update Gonzalez’s status if he clears the protocol in the coming hours.
Vrabel also said that edge rusher Harold Landry (knee) and running back Terrell Jennings (concussion) will carry questionable designations into the game.
Jennings would need to be activated in order to play against Houston and the Patriots also have cornerback Alex Austin eligible to come off injured reserve.
The chances of cornerback Christian Gonzalez playing against the Texans on Sunday are looking better.
Gonzalez moved from limited to full practice participation at Thursday’s practice. That suggests he’s moving closer to clearing concussion protocol in time to be in the lineup for the divisional round.
Right tackle Morgan Moses (knee) and offensive lineman Thayer Munford (knee) returned to practice on a limited basis. Linebackers Anfernee Jennings (knee) and Harold Landry (knee) remained in the limited category.
Cornerback Alex Austin (wrist), tight end Hunter Henry (knee), running back Terrell Jennings (concussion), and defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga (foot) were the team’s full participants.
The Patriots will issue their final injury report for their matchup with Houston on Friday.
Wide receiver Nico Collins wasn’t the only offensive starter out of Texans practice on Thursday.
Right tackle Trent Brown also missed practice for the second straight day. Brown, who played every snap in the team’s win over the Steelers, has been sidelined by an ankle injury.
Defensive lineman Denico Autry (knee) and wide receiver Justin Watson (concussion) were also out of practice. They did not practice on Wednesday either.
Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), cornerback Kamari Lassiter (ankle, knee), defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (elbow), offensive lineman Tytus Howard (ankle), offensive guard Ed Ingram (shoulder) and running back Jawhar Jordan (ankle) remained limited participants. Safety Jaylen Reed (knee), long snapper Austin Brinkman (knee), and left tackle Aireontae Ersery (thumb) were full participants.
It’s looking like the Texans are going to have to go without wide receiver Nico Collins against the Patriots on Sunday.
Reporters at the open portion of Thursday’s practice noted that Collins was not on the field with the rest of the team. Collins suffered a concussion in the wild card win over the Steelers and did not take part in Wednesday’s practice either.
Given the need to pass through several stages of increased work in order to pass the concussion protocol, it seems unlikely that Collins will have enough time to be cleared for this weekend.
Christian Kirk stepped up with a big game against the Steelers and he is joined at wideout by Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel, Xavier Hutchinson, Justin Watson, Braxton Berrios.
Six down, seven to go.
The postseason is nearly halfway over, after the wild-card round. Simms went 4-2 straight up and 3-3 against the spread; I was 3-3 and 2-4, respectively.
Simms has clinched the straight-up title for the year, at 185-92-1. I’m 177-100-1. Against the spread, I’m clinging to a two-game lead, 141-133-4 and he’s 139-135-4.
This week, we have two disagreements against the spread, and two straight up.
For all division-round picks, you know what to do.
Bills at Broncos (-1.5)
Josh Allen knows the clock is ticking louder and louder on his chances to get to a Super Bowl. This may be his best chance yet to make it, especially without Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow in the playoff field. While the future is extremely bright for the Broncos, this year could end up being another stepping stone toward the ultimate prize.
Florio’s pick: Bills 24, Broncos 21.
Simms’s pick: Bills 24, 21.
49ers at Seahawks (-7)
Sam Darnold gets another chance to make a big play in a big spot, and to avoid making a bad play in a bad spot. And Kyle Shanahan gets another chance to cook up a game plan that will yield more than three points. All the pressure is on Seattle; none of the pressure is on the 49ers. In this round, sometimes that can make all the difference.
Simms, obviously, disagrees. He thinks Darnold will get it done, and that the Seattle defense will once again hold the San Francisco offense in check.
Florio’s pick: 49ers 27, Seahawks 24.
Simms’s pick: Seahawks 27, 49ers 17.
Texans at Patriots (-3)
The Texans’ defense is on par with other great units that carried the franchise to a Super Bowl win. This week, they likely won’t have to overcome a surprisingly poor performance from quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Florio’s pick: Texans 16, Patriots 13.
Simms’s pick: Texans 20, Patriots 17.
Rams (-3.5) at Bears
Who will step up in the fourth quarter, and who will step off? The Bears thrive when they’re firmly behind the 8 ball. And number 18 has shown that, in those moments, he can rise to a higher level.
Simms sees the Rams as being good enough on both sides of the ball to pull away.
Florio’s pick: Bears 30, Rams 27.
Simms’s pick: Rams 38, Bears 27.
The NFL previously applied the term “super” to the wild-card round of the playoffs. This year, the ratings were.
Via Sports Business Journal, the six games televised by Fox (which had two), CBS, Prime Video, NBC and ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 attracted an average of 31.9 million viewers.
That’s a 13-percent increase from last year, and the best since the NFL expanded the playoffs from six teams to seven in 2020, which grew the wild-card round from four games to six.
The total average is the best since the four-game format attracted an average of 32.6 million in 2016 for these games: Raiders-Texans, Lions-Seahawks, Dolphins-Steelers, and Packers-Giants. The smallest victory margin that year was 13 points, with an average score of 30-11.
This year, four of the games went down to the wire. Two of the games were lopsided.
