The Broncos were only able to celebrate their big overtime win against the Bills on Saturday for a few minutes before they received a devastating update: quarterback Bo Nix had broken a bone in his ankle, and is out for the remainder of the playoffs.
Denver will turn to backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham next week when they host the AFC championship game against the winner of Sunday’s contest between the Patriots and Texans.
While its a brutal blow for the Broncos, coach Sean Payton shared the inspiring message he had for Nix after finding out the extent of his injury.
“He’s a tough cookie,” Payton told reporters. “I said, ‘Listen, I believe you’re the second quarterback in Year 2 to take your team to a championship game, and the first is Mahomes. And this team all year has lost key players. We’ll rise up for the next challenge and we’ll go from there.’”
Payton also emphasized the belief he had in Stidham to lead the team ahead of next week’s conference championship.
“He’s ready. I said this at the beginning of the season, I feel like I’ve got a [backup quarterback] that is capable of starting for a number of teams, and I know he feels the same way. So watch out. Just watch.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sean Payton Shares Inspiring Message He Gave Bo Nix After Devastating Injury.
