Nick Foles Takes Wild Backup QB Jab at Patriots Ahead of AFC Championship Game, Gives Hope to Disheartened Broncos Fans

Jarrett Stidham received encouraging words from Super Bowl winner Nick Foles who won his ring by defeating the Patriots.

Nick Foles Takes Wild Backup QB Jab at Patriots Ahead of AFC Championship Game, Gives Hope to Disheartened Broncos Fans

#8 Jarrett Stidham, #10 Bo Nix and Nick Foles inside the circle (Image via IMAGO)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Nick Foles encouraged Denver Broncos fans to stay calm and trust Jarrett Stidham, who will be stepping in for Bo Nix in the AFC Championship game. Stidham finds himself in this situation because Nix picked up an ankle injury on Saturday night.

On the second-to-last play of the AFC Divisional round fixture against the Buffalo Bills, Nix suffered a fractured ankle. He played the remaining snaps, spoke with the media before Denver head coach Sean Payton broke the shocking news.

Not long after the news went viral, former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles posted a tweet that quickly grabbed attention.

Note for the Broncos and their fans: I know it has been an emotional 24 hours. I feel for Bo and the team, and I’m sending prayers for a strong recovery.

Nick Foles tweeted

Parallels between Nick Foles and Jarrett Stidham

At the time of writing, nearly 13 million users have viewed the post, which has also been retweeted more than 18000 times. The reason behind the post’s success is due to what Foles wrote as his closing statement.

Nick Foles Takes Wild Backup QB Jab at Patriots Ahead of AFC Championship Game, Gives Hope to Disheartened Broncos Fans
Jarrett Stidham (Image via IMAGO)

A positive note going into the game versus the Patriots is that they struggle against backup QBs in championship-type games.

Foles noted

Tom Brady won seven Super Bowls out of ten appearances during his career with the Patriots and the Buccaneers. He lost twice to Eli Manning and the Giants, and the only other loss came at the hands of Foles and the Eagles.

During the 2017 season (first year of his second stint in Philly), Foles replaced Carson Wentz as the starter after Wentz suffered a season-ending injury. In the Super Bowl against the Patriots, Foles completed 28 of 43 passes for 373 yards, tossing three touchdowns, including a Philly Special and one interception, leading the Eagles to a 41-33 victory. He was named the game’s MVP.

Stidham has the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong by following in the footsteps of Foles. Coincidentally, he’s not the only quarterback to end up in a similar situation. Jeff Hostetler famously took over as the Giants’ starting quarterback in the 1990 season after Phil Simms broke his foot, guiding the team through the playoffs and capping it off with a 20-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.

More importantly, Stidham gets to accomplish the rare feat by knocking out his former team, the New England Patriots. The Patriots drafted Stidham 133rd overall in the 2019 NFL draft as the backup to Tom Brady. Three years and 8 appearances later, the Patriots traded him to the Las Vegas Raiders. Ahead of the 2023 season, the Broncos signed the 29-year-old, where he has been ever since.

Sean Payton defends Jarrett Stidham ahead of big AFC Championship showdown

It’s natural for Broncos fans to feel a little tense to see Stidham lining up under center in the Broncos’ first AFC title game since the 2015 season. Stidham’s only action in 2025 was taking a knee during the Week 16 win over the Cowboys. In fact, he hasn’t thrown a pass in the NFL for more than two years.

If anyone can maximize a quarterback’s strengths, is Sean Payton. He made Nix play like a seasoned veteran in just his second year of playing pro football. Stidham may have had very little gametime under his belt, but Payton has a few tricks up his sleeve to make this work in Denver’s favor.

The plan’s always got to be built around the type and the skill sets of the players you’re playing with. And so are there certain things that Bo does differently than Stiddy [Stidham]? Absolutely. And that’s where the work begins tonight.

Sean Payton said (H/T: Associated Press)

Stidham played his best football in Vegas. He replaced Derek Carr for the final two games of the season. The Raiders lost both games, but Stidham threw 4 touchdowns, 3 picks, and boasted a passer rating close to 90.

Stidham was the starter for Auburn in his final two years (2017 and 2018) of college football. The guy who became the Tigers quarterback after him was none other than Bo Nix.

Also Read: