What a Stiddy pity. The Broncos would have won with Bo. Would Sean Payton have called a pass play on a key fourth-and-1? Nix is an elite runner, and sneaker, among NFL quarterbacks. Would Nix have panicked and tossed a lateral the Patriots later turned into their lone touchdown? We’ll nev er know. Shoulda, woulda, what mighta been. Nix’s 24 wins rank first all-time over a quarterback’s first two seasons. But Sunday he had to watch helplessly from a luxury suite as New England celebrated the AFC Championship and a spot in Super Bowl LX. Don’t blame sudden starter Jarrett Stidham for the Broncos’ chilling 10-7 loss. Stiddy was merely a passenger thrown onto a speed boat as it sped toward a Super Bowl. He was not the reason they lost. Not having Nix, a Houdini in close games, was the reason the Broncos lost. This was exactly the kind of game Nix, who underwent surgery last Tuesday on a broken ankle, won over and over again this season: one possession, fourth-quarter game, on the comeback trail. Twelve times the Broncos won with a comeback, an NFL record for one team in a season. But their late-game mojo blew away with a frigid north wind that dumped wind chills into the single digits in the final quarter. Broncos head coach Sean Payton walks off the field during the 4th quarter of the AFC Championship against the Patriots at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett) After a decade of waiting to tailgate in late January, Broncos Country shook Mile High. God made it a second globe. But there was never a point late when the Broncos offense appeared capable of making that one, big play.  Their five possessions of the second half ended punt, punt, punt, missed field goal, punt. None of the possessions spanned longer than six plays. None matched the energy of a crowd prepared to explode from under its layers. Don’t blame Stiddy. Blame the football gods who blessed the Broncos for 15 wins then cursed them with Nix’s injury on the second-to-last play of overtime in a divisional round win over the Bills. The Broncos entered Sunday as the longest home underdog in conference championship history, a 4.5-point ‘dog. But when Stiddy launched a 52-yard bomb to Marvin Mims in the first quarter, before the sideways snow settled in, the Hollywood script seemed there for the writing. Stidham was only the second quarterback to make his first start of the season in a conference championship or Super Bowl. The great Roger Staubach of the Cowboys didn’t win his in 1972, either. If the Stiddy story was easy, more backups would do it. The Broncos lost the game in the first half and could not win it in the second. The big boo-boo came when Stidham, under heavy pressure, pushed out a lateral in the direction of wide receiver Pat Bryant. The officials made the correct call: fumble. New England’s Elijah Ponder recovered the ball and two plays later quarterback Drake Maye scrambled into the end zone to tie the score at 7-7. “That was completely on me,” Stidham said. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel holds up the AFC Championship trophy beside New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) in a nearly empty Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. The Patriots beat the Broncos 10-7 and will be headed to the Super Bowl in two weeks. (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett) As the game lurched forward and a slick field made solid footing tough to come by, a quarterback who could escape pressure and run for a first down became even more valuable. “It is what it is,” Stiddy said of the slippery conditions. “Both teams had to play in it.” Payton’s proclamation in the heat of August came up just short. Drawing chuckles from the cheap seats, the coach had claimed the Broncos had all the earmarks of a Super Bowl contender. Nailed it. He then claimed last week Stiddy would “let it rip” in his first playoff start and teams should “watch out.” Not in those field conditions. Not against a Mike Vrabel defense. Not on six days’ notice. “I thought he fought hard (in tough) conditions,” Payton said Sunday. This unfortunate situation was not entirely unprecedented in the rock-solid memories of Broncos diehards. In the 1991 AFC Championship Game, backup quarterback Gary Kubiak was forced into action when John Elway left with a deep thigh bruise. Remember the score? 10-7, not the Broncos. Woulda, coulda, shoulda spans sports decades. “You hurt for every one of those players in that locker room,” Payton said. While the Patriots earned their record 12th appearance in a Super Bowl, denying the Broncos their ninth, I contend the Broncos would be there with Bo. Denver Broncos grounds crew blow snow off the yard lines during the second half of the AFC Championship NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) One, Nix is a dangerous runner, a serious advantage in a winter wonderland like Sunday’s. See Maye, who clinched it with a 7-yard sprint around the left end. First down, Pats. Game over.  “Snowing, windy, makes it almost impossible to throw the ball forward,” Broncos veteran lineman Mike McGlinchey said. Two, if you believe the smartest folks in sports are the ones who establish the betting lines, this line moved 4-5 points after Nix’s injury was revealed. The Broncos lost by three. How valuable was Nix to the Broncos? That valuable. “There’s always regrets,” Payton said. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. What a pity. ...read more read less