Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix delivered the biggest win of his young career when he led his team to a 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round. However, the win came at a price. Nix suffered a season-ending injury and will consequently miss the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots. But before Nix went down last weekend, there was a controversial hit that changed the course of the game.

Bills defensive end Joey Bosa drilled Nix late on Denver’s final offensive drive, and the NFL has decided to punish Bosa for the play. And on January 24, the league released its Gameday Accountability report for the Divisional Round and confirmed its decision on his hit.

According to the NFL’s rulebook, players can be fined $17,389 for roughing the passer, with the number rising to $23,186 for a second offense in the same season. But despite being a repeat offender, Bosa received the lower-end fine of $17,389 for his hit on Nix. As if the loss wasn’t costly enough, the Bills are now paying more than $30,000 in fines for their actions. 

The incident involving Bo Nix happened with 6:09 left in overtime of the Divisional Round game. On second-and-10, as Nix tried to hit his wide receiver, Courtland Sutton, downfield, Bosa slammed into the QB and forced an incomplete pass. Officials immediately threw the flag for roughing the passer, handing Denver a crucial 15-yard gain. But that wasn’t the only flag the Bills saw on that drive. 

Two plays later, Bills’ cornerback Taron Johnson got called for pass interference on Broncos’ wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr., and the Broncos gladly accepted another 17 yards. But in the following play, as Bo Nix knelt to set up a field goal attempt, Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White walked up to an official to argue the call. 

Then things took a turn for the worse for Buffalo as White took off his helmet and slammed it toward the field. Officials immediately flagged him for unsportsmanlike conduct, and the NFL has now fined him $14,222 for it. That penalty had also pushed Denver 6 yards closer to the field goal range. So, the Broncos eventually drilled a 23-yard field goal and ended Buffalo’s season. 

With that loss now in the rearview mirror, the Bills have already made sweeping changes, including firing their head coach, Sean McDermott. Meanwhile, Bo Nix will have to watch from the sidelines as Denver tries to punch its ticket to the Super Bowl. Taking over the reins from Nix will be Broncos’ backup QB Jarrett Stidham, a former Patriots fourth-round pick in 2019. 

Bo Nix’s injury in the playoffs has fueled the Broncos’ drive to win the Super Bowl 

Before the injury, Bo Nix threw for 279 yards, 3 TDs, and one interception while posting a passer rating of 87.1 in the Divisional Round game. Nix also ran for 29 yards on 12 carries and kept several drives alive with clutch scrambles in that game.

But during one of those scrambles in overtime, Nix was tackled to the ground by Bills safety Cole Bishop. That’s when Nix fractured his right ankle—an injury that required season-ending surgery. Now the Broncos will ride with Jarrett Stidham, and he made it clear that Nix’s injury has motivated Denver’s locker room.

“Devastating for him [Bo Nix] obviously,” Jarrett Stidham said in a presser on January 21. “My heart goes out to him and everything that he means to this team. Because, obviously, we wouldn’t be in this position without Bo. And yeah, I just want to go—I know all of us on offense, and I know the whole team—we want to go out there and make him proud this Sunday.”

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Losing a franchise quarterback like Bo Nix this close to a Super Bowl is about as bad as it gets for Denver. But history offers a little hope—10 QBs have reached the Super Bowl after starting the season as backups, including NFL legend Tom Brady back in 2001. Still, Stidham’s résumé doesn’t exactly offer that much assurance, as he has just four career starts since entering the NFL in 2019. 

That said, Stidham has also played five games for the Patriots in 2020 and threw for 256 yards with 2 TDs and three interceptions. In his first start for the Raiders in 2022, Stidham also recorded his career-best figures with 656 yards and 4 TDs. Then, during the 2023 season with Denver, he went 1-1 as a starter and recorded 496 yards, 2 TDs, and one interception. This past season, Stidham appeared in just one game in Week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys, played four snaps, and did not attempt a single pass. 

Now, Jarrett Stidham gets the biggest opportunity of his career at Mile High, against a Patriots defense that just intercepted quarterback C.J. Stroud four times in a 28-16 Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans. But Broncos’ head coach Sean Payton believes in his backup QB, and that confidence seems to be spreading to the fanbase in Denver. Ultimately, while he lacks playoff experience, Stidham is familiar with the Broncos’ system and has a team that clearly wants to win this one for Bo Nix.