Bo Nix guided Denver to a win over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday to secure a spot in the AFC Championship. The Broncos will play the rest of the playoffs without their star quarterback, however.
Head coach Sean Payton announced after the game that Nix suffered a fractured a bone in his right ankle. The injury came on a running play not long before Wil Lutz connected on a 23-yard field goal to seal Denver’s 33-30 overtime win.
Denver announced that Nix will be done for the season as a result of the injury.
“He’s scheduled to have surgery Tuesday of this week, which will put him out for the rest of the season,” Payton told reporters after the game. “Stiddy’s (backup Jarrett Stidham) ready to go. … This just is what it is, and we felt like it would be best to just tell everyone now.”
The injury was nondescript at the time with Nix being tackled around the ankle by Buffalo safety Cole Bishop on a rushing attempt that lost 2 yards on first-and-10. The game-winning field goal from Wil Lutz was set up with a pass interference call on Bills defensive back Tre’Davious White that cost his team 30 yards.
Nix threw a pass to Marvin Mims Jr. down the field on the play that resulted in the penalty to set up the Broncos for the win. The second-year quarterback could be seen visibly wincing when walking to the sideline on the following play — a run that moved the ball to the middle of the field with 5:17 to play in overtime.
Nix ran to his right for a loss of 3 yards with the Buffalo pass rush pressuring him while he took a knee on the play.
Nix finished 26 of 46 in the game with 279 yards passing and 3 touchdowns plus 1 interception. He also rushed for 29 yards on 12 attempts.
Stidham In For Nix
The Broncos will now turn to Stidham to carry the team into the AFC championship game. The seventh-year quarterback has been with Denver since 2023 but has made just one appearance this season in a blowout win over Dallas.
The Auburn alum was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 draft by New England. Stidham is 1-3 in four career starts. He has passed for 1,422 yards in his career to go with 8 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
The 29-year-old signal caller’s last start came in the 2023 season. He has played in 20 games in his career with eight of those coming with the Patriots and five with the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Broncos will either take on the Houston Texans or New England in the AFC title game next week.
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