Former Auburn QB Jarrett Stidham Will Fill In for Bo Nix in AFC Championship Game

January 19, 2026 Michael Brauner Auburn, Auburn, Featured News, NFL
NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 30: Two Auburn Tigers flags cross in the end zone after a touchdown during the TransPerfect Music City Bowl between the Auburn Tigers and Maryland Terrapins, December 30, 2023 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire)

Auburn Tigers fans are going to have something to watch very closely this upcoming weekend with the NFL playing its conference title games to see who earns the right to go to the Super Bowl.

In the AFC, the Denver Broncos are set to take on the New England Patriots at Mile High Stadium while the NFC will see the Los Angeles Rams face off against the Seattle Seahawks. For the Broncos, they might just have some interested parties from The Plains tuning in to watch their fellow orange brethren.

All year long, Denver has been quarterbacked by second year former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, who has established himself as one of the premiere young gunslingers in football. During the final plays of the victory on Saturday over the Buffalo Bills however, Nix broke his ankle and now will miss the rest of the season.

The Tiger connection does not end with Nix however.

As fate would have it, Broncos backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham is also an Auburn man, playing two years for the Tigers from 2017 to 2018 after transferring from Baylor. Throwing nearly 6,000 yards in 27 games, Stidham had 36 touchdowns in his Auburn career and led the Tigers to a dramatic 2017 Iron Bowl victory over Alabama.

Now, Stidham steps into an impossible situation after Nix’s huge season and tries to keep Denver’s Super Bowl hopes alive in front of a home crowd who is going to be devastated to not have their starting quarterback.

Stidham has played and excelled in big games before going back to his time at Auburn, but now he will be facing the biggest challenge of his career. Fortunately, he will have the support of both Nix and the entire Auburn family attempting to will him and the Broncos to victory.