KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Denver is Stiddy City on Sunday.
And there’s a reason why Sean Payton isn’t panicking after losing his starting quarterback just before the AFC championship game against New England (2 p.m. CT, CBS).
Jan 19, 2020; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and head coach Andy Reid and Norma Hunt and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) and CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz and tight end Travis Kelce (87) and general manager Brett Veach (left to right) celebrate on stage after the AFC Championship Game against the Tennessee Titans at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Brett Veach, Andy Reid and the Chiefs should take notice.
Sunday’s game emphasizes the importance of backup-quarterback play, something with which Kansas City has struggled during Patrick Mahomes’ eight seasons as a starter. In that stretch, the Chiefs are just 2-8 without Mahomes.
Jan 7, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham (3) throws against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Chiefs could start backup in Week 1
They might need a backup to come in and win games at the front end of the 2026 season as Mahomes works to return following season-ending ACL surgery on his left knee. And as New England proved on Sept. 7, losing a Week 1 game can have significant postseason implications. A Patriots home loss to the Raiders wound up costing New England the right to host Sunday’s AFC championship game.
Payton has confidence in Stidham, who hasn’t thrown a pass since the end of the 2023 season, because Denver’s head coach has confidence in himself. In 2019 when Payton lost Drew Brees for five games, Teddy Bridgewater went 5-0. New Orleans finished the year 13-3.
Jan 5, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham (8) hands the ball off to running back Audric Estime (23) in the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Bridgewater’s secret
And according to NFL Network’s Steve Wyche, Bridgewater had thrown just 23 passes in the three prior seasons, 2016-18.
“I actually spoke to Teddy Bridgewater this week,” Wyche reported on Sunday’s edition of NFL Gameday Morning, “and I said, ‘Why could Jarrett Stidham do what you did?’ And he said a couple of key things that helped him in New Orleans, and part of it is when he was practicing on the scout team, he was allowed to change plays at the line of scrimmage — not necessarily run the play that was on the diagram.
Broncos coach Sean Payton has been through a similar QB situation as he is today with Jarrett Stidham back in 2019. I spoke to Teddy Bridgewater, who won 5 games filling in for Drew Brees in New Orleans, as to why Stidham could follow his route to success. pic.twitter.com/rNSppHvrBn
— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) January 25, 2026
“On scout teams, players get a big card that’s got a script and a diagram. He could go away from his primary receiver, and speaking to people with the Broncos, that is exactly what they have done with Stidham.”
Whether the Chiefs allow their quarterbacks similar autonomy against Steve Spagnuolo’s defense in practice is uncertain. But what’s factual is that Kansas City needs to improve its backup-quarterback play.
Chiefs couldn’t reach 170 yards in any 2025 game without Mahomes
In three-plus games without Mahomes, the quarterbacks were atrocious. Gardner Minshew came off the bench in a three-point game after Mahomes went down and threw an interception.
The next week, after Minshew sustained a knee injury on the game’s third play, the Chiefs played their worst game of the year against one of the league’s worst teams, a 26-9 loss at Tennessee.
And while Chris Oladokun led the Chiefs to their only touchdown in three games without Mahomes – putting Kansas City in position to nearly upset Denver on Christmas night – he was abysmal the following week at Las Vegas with a full week to prepare.
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