The Denver Broncos finally broke a ten-year playoff win drought, but in the process, Bo Nix broke his leg, too. Head coach Sean Payton confirmed after the game that Bo Nix suffered a fractured bone in his right ankle during the final moments of the contest. Though the team has been preparing their QB2 for a first start since 2023, Dr. Dave Schneider has given them a ray of hope with a possible date of his return. 

“There is an outside chance that what he needs is to have surgery tomorrow,” Schneider said on the KOA Sports Podcast. “By all reports, because it’s such a simple fracture, the plates and screws being used mean that he could almost be back to play by the Super Bowl. It’s just crazy; the craziest things happen to him.”

While Bo Nix is officially out for the rest of the postseason due to a fractured ankle, the buzz surrounding a potential “early return” is a massive psychological boost for Denver fans. Even though he won’t suit up for this Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the Patriots, any good news about his surgery being successful could be a hope that the fans can cling to.

Bo Nix’s postseason heartbreak now turns into a race against time. After suffering a fractured ankle during the Broncos’ playoff run, head coach Sean Payton confirmed that surgery was scheduled for Tuesday with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Norman E. Waldrop in Birmingham, Alabama. While the team has yet to formally confirm the procedure’s completion, early expectations remain optimistic.

Knowing that their star QB, who has started 36 consecutive games, is already on the fast track to a full recovery could mean that the Broncos won’t have to face a long-term future without him. Fans are expecting that if Jarrett Stidham can take care of one game, then Nix can take it forward from there.

Nix showed incredible toughness by finishing the game despite suffering a spiral fibula fracture on the second-to-last play of overtime. He ended the day with 279 passing yards and threw three touchdowns. Following a successful surgery on Tuesday to repair the bone with plates and screws, his recovery timeline looks promising. However, the team appears to be preparing for a different reality.

Sean Payton gives news on Bo Nix’s injury

It was a jarring moment for Denver Broncos fans when Sean Payton broke Bo Nix’s injury update after Sunday’s game. Usually, coaches play it safe with vague updates, but Payton was surprisingly direct. He was later asked why he decided to announce Nix being done for the season so early on.

“I wasn’t trying to send you guys cakes or flowers,” Payton told reporters on Sunday. “Here’s what I thought. I would’ve liked to talk to the team first, but half of the locker room had left. There’s no way that story survives until Monday when I talk to the team. That seems to me like the smartest and easiest thing to do, and just be straightforward with it. At least then the players are going to hear that from me on the podium and not some national insider that gets it from an agent or that gets it from a doctor.”

In Bo Nix’s absence, the spotlight has shifted to Jarrett Stidham. Early signs are encouraging. Stidham hasn’t started an NFL game since 2023, but he has carried himself with quiet confidence, publicly embracing the QB1 role and backing it up in Broncos practice.

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Coaches and teammates have taken notice, as Stidham has made defenders “look bad” in training. With training already underway and Payton insisting the offense is in capable hands, the veteran’s performance in practice has injected a much-needed dose of optimism into Denver’s title push.

For New England, this moment feels familiar, but the stakes feel heavier. On Sunday, January 25, at 3 p.m. ET, the Patriots return to Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High with the Super Bowl one win away, airing live on CBS and Paramount+. History has not been kind to them in this building, with losses here in the 2013 and 2015 AFC title games still lingering. But this Patriots team arrives differently built, battle-tested through 16 wins, carrying momentum instead of doubt. The stage is familiar, the setting unforgiving, and the opportunity unmistakable.