DENVER, Colo. — It is another week of waiting to be back in Empower Field at Mile High, with this time even higher stakes for fans as the Broncos will host the New England Patriots for the AFC Championship Game.
Now, the orange and blue have gone from "Bo-lieving" to placing their faith in backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
After a thrilling overtime win, fans learned Bo Nix would be out for the rest of the season with a broken right ankle. Even though the Broncos may be Nix-less, Coach Sean Payton said, “Stiddy’s ready."
Just last week, Scripps News Denver checked in with Derek Friedman, owner of Sportsfan, to hear how the local independent sports retailer was gearing up for the big home playoff game.
Now, with the news of Nix being out for the season, the store is finding a way to keep Broncos Country fired up about Stidham.
"Obviously, all of Broncos Country wants to rally around Jarrett Stidham and what he's going to bring on Sunday against the Patriots, and so we've got a little idea for a rally towel to help out with that," Friedman said.
Jared Laughlin, a graphic designer, beamed at his latest work of a bold orange and blue design featuring the motto "In Stiddy We Trust."
"This is my form of manifestation, so if I believe I can do it, if I'm putting all the good energy out there by putting stuff together like this, then I believe it [can] happen," Laughlin said.
Friedman is hoping the towels will come before the big game on Sunday for fans to wave proudly. Throughout Monday morning, excitement was buzzing in the Mile High City as fans sought out additional merchandise to wear with pride.
"Everyone's just behind the Broncos. I am behind the Broncos, and whoever is playing under center is the guy that you're going to support, so everyone is absolutely pulling for Jarrett," Friedman said.
Previously, Scripps News Denver has brought out the "Boliever Meter" asking fans to rank themselves on their faith in Nix. However, this time we asked them to tell us their faith on the "Stiddy Scale" from 1 to 10.
"It’s a 10," said Martin Beltran, a Broncos fan. "I've always believed in Stidham; he has always been good to me. I believe in him."
"I'll go with the nine with him. A nine," Garfield Baca, Broncos fan, said.
"We're probably around a 25," Friedman said.
Nick Ferguson, former Denver Broncos safety, explained the news of Nix being out of the season as a gut punch to fans coming off a high from beating the Bills.
"Well, this only kind of personifies the NFL in a nutshell because it's a big roller coaster. It's full of drama," said Ferguson. "It's highs and lows, and the Broncos had that exciting win at home against the Buffalo Bills, creating five turnovers, only to find out hours later that, 'Hey, Bo Nix was injured and he's going to be down for the season.'"
Looking ahead, Ferguson said a concern he sees is the level of chemistry on the team, as Stidham now has less than a week to mesh with the other players on the team and for the other players to understand the skills Stiddy has.
"It's very hard. I love to use metaphors to help fans understand. This is like speed dating, right? How quickly can you get a chance to know that person and show who you are in 60 seconds or less — that's where we are with this situation," said Ferguson. "Even though Stidham has been in this offense, that chemistry was always given to Bo because Bo was getting a lot of those first-team reps, and I understand why. So, they're going to have a short window to try to establish some type of chemistry, and I'm hoping that they're able to do it."
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