Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix broke his right ankle late in overtime of the divisional-round victory over Buffalo and will undergo surgery, sidelining him for the remainder of the playoffs. Backup Jarrett Stidham will now start the AFC championship game. Nix sustained the injury on a keeper play but remarkably stayed in the game, even setting up the game-winning field goal, before coach Sean Payton delivered the stunning news post-game.
DENVER (AP) — Bo Nix broke his right ankle late in overtime of the Denver Broncos’ divisional-round victory over Buffalo on Saturday and will have surgery that will sideline him for the rest of the playoffs. Coach Sean Payton delivered the stunning news about his second-year quarterback in the aftermath of Denver’s biggest win in a decade. Backup Jarrett Stidham, who’s 1-3 as a starter in six seasons, will start the AFC championship game next weekend. “Stiddy’s ready,” Payton said after returning to the postgame lectern to discuss the injury following Denver’s 33-30 victory over Josh Allen and the Bills. Payton said Nix got hurt on a keeper where he lost 2 yards and was tackled by safety Cole Bishop. Nix was limping after the play, but there was no indication that he suffered such a serious injury. On the next play, Nix threw a deep pass to Marvin Mims Jr. that drew a 30-yard pass-interference flag and got the Broncos well into field-goal range. Nix then took a knee to center the ball for Wil Lutz’s game-ending 23-yard field goal. Payton said Nix will have surgery Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama. RELATED STORIES Seahawks dominate 49ers from opening kick, advance to NFC title game with 41-6 win 2 MIN READ Josh Allen wipes away tears and takes the blame after his 4 turnovers lead to another playoff loss 3 MIN READ 49ers star RB Christian McCaffrey injured in playoff game against Seahawks, returns in 3rd quarter 1 MIN READ “He’s such a strong, faith-based guy,” Payton said. “He’s sitting in the hallway with his family and coming over and we’re all talking to him. He knows that God’s got a plan for him and he said he had (a broken ankle) in high school and then he said he had one at Auburn. “And I said I didn’t realize that. I said if I had known that I wouldn’t have drafted you,” Payton cracked. Nix said nothing about being hurt during a postgame interview with CBS, and he sounded like he was looking forward to the next game. “It’s great to have home-field advantage in a situation like this. It’s exciting. This is why you play the game, this is why you compete. You get to playoff football, and good things happen,” Nix said. The locker room had cleared out and reporters were waiting in an interview room for Nix when Payton returned and delivered the news. Nix, the 12th overall pick out of Oregon in the 2024 NFL draft, tied Russell Wilson’s NFL record with two dozen victories in his first two seasons. Saturday’s victory was his first in the playoffs. The Broncos lost last year at Buffalo but Nix led Denver to the AFC’s top seed this season. “He’s a tough cookie,” Payton said. “And this team all year has lost key players and will rise up for the next challenge.” ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
