DENVER (AP) — Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton is convinced that backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham can double his career win total when he takes Bo Nix's place under center in the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots next week.

Although Stidham received a paucity of the practice snaps during the season, he did get some more work during the playoff bye week after the Broncos (15-3) earned the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

“There’d be practices where I’m looking at (defensive coordinator) Vance (Joseph) and getting (mad) because Stiddy’s making our defense look bad,” Payton said. “He’s very accurate. He’s got a lot to his ball.”

Losing a starting quarterback to injury — as the Broncos lost Nix to a broken ankle as he led them to a 33-30 overtime win against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on Saturday — can devastate a team and short-circuit title hopes.

Payton points to many examples of teams that overcame similar adversity such as when Jeff Hostetler famously stepped in as the starting quarterback for the New York Giants in December 1990 when Phil Simms broke his foot and led the team through the playoffs, culminating in a 20-19 win over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl 25.

Or when Nick Foles took over late in the season in Philadelphia when Carson Wentz tore an ACL in 2017 and led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl win, beating Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

“I understand where it’s coming from,” this notion that losing a starting QB is a death knell, Payton said, “but historically speaking, all bets weren’t off with Hostetler, they weren’t off in Philly, when we lost (Drew) Brees midseason against the Rams and (Teddy) Bridgewater won five in a row.

"All bets can be off. (But) they weren’t off for Houston this year when Davis Mills came in for (an injured C.J. Stroud) and I don't know if he lost a game.”

Mills went 3-0 in three starts.

Stidham will be the seventh QB since starts began being tracked in 1950 to make his first start of a season in the playoffs, according to Sportradar. Frank Reich of the Bills is the only one to earn a win. Reich went 2-0 in place of an injured Jim Kelly in 1992, including a comeback from a 35-3 third-quarter deficit against Houston, before Kelly returned for the AFC title game.

Stidham started two games for the Raiders in 2022 and two for Denver in 2023, when he replaced a benched Russell Wilson and beat the Chargers before losing to Las Vegas. But he hasn't thrown a pass in a game since.

The playbook will certainly change for Stidham, who took just one snap this season, a kneel-down against Dallas in Week 8.

“The plan’s always got to be built around the type and the skill sets of the players you’re playing with," Payton said. "And so are there certain things that Bo does differently than Stiddy? Absolutely. And that’s where the work begins tonight.”

A fourth-round draft pick by New England out of Auburn in 2019, Stidham is largely an unknown commodity after appearing in just 20 games over six NFL seasons. But Payton has long touted his backup QB as one who could easily start for many teams.

Payton said he targeted Stidham in the draft when he was in New Orleans and watched as Stidham built his resume as Tom Brady's No. 2: “I know exactly how he was coached in New England, and then I know how (Josh) McDaniels felt about him when he brought him from New England to Vegas. And then I know reports on how he played and then we saw him play in real time,” Payton said.

“But ultimately ... it's our three years here and our three years watching him day in and day out ... And so he will be ready to go and ready for the moment.”

Nix will undergo surgery Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama, but Payton demurred when asked if he had a sense of a recovery timeline or whether Nix would be back by training camp next summer.

“The surgeon gets his hands on the X-rays and so we have enough information now for everyone and the focus is now on the next week’s game,” Payton said.

Part of what made Payton's postgame announcement about Nix's injury so stunning was that Nix didn't leave the game after driving Denver into range for the game-winning field goal for the Broncos' first playoff win since Super Bowl 50. He even spoke with CBS in a postgame interview in which appeared eager to play in the conference championship.

When Wil Lutz trotted out for the game-winning field goal, Payton gave Nix a chest bump as he got to the sideline. Nix told him to be careful, saying his right ankle was really hurting. Payton figured it was just a sprain.

“I said you'll be fine and I tapped him in the chest again,” Payton recounted. “I said just enjoy this field goal.”

The on-field jubilation filtered into a locker room celebration and Payton held his postgame news conference. When he returned to his office, GM George Paton and Beau Lowery, the team's vice president of player health and performance, solemnly showed him the X-ray.

Payton went right to find Nix, who was outside the locker room surrounded by family members and some teammates including Stidham.

“And I just asked him how he was doing, are you hanging in there? And as I said to you guys last night, this is a strong-minded individual,” Payton said.

Payton is usually loathe to discuss injuries, such as those to wide receivers Troy Franklin (hamstring) and Pat Bryant (concussion) Saturday. But he said he decided to return to the lectern an hour after the game to deliver the news of Nix's injury because he didn't want his players to hear it from a news outlet with the big scoop before they held their team meeting Monday morning.

“I would have liked to have talked to the team first but like half of the locker room had left,” Payton said.

NFL again faces questions about the definition of a catch after disputed pick in Bills-Broncos game

Hey, NFL: What’s a catch?

Once again, many football fans, coaches and commentators are questioning the definition of a catch after a disputed interception helped eliminate the Buffalo Bills from the playoffs in a 33-30 loss to the Denver Broncos on Saturday.

Josh Allen’s deep pass to Brandin Cooks in overtime was wrestled out of the veteran receiver’s hands by Ja’Quan McMillian, and officials ruled that McMillian had the ball before Cooks was down by contact. Denver was awarded the turnover at its 20.

Cooks “was going to the ground as part of the process of the catch and he lost possession of the ball when he hit the ground,” referee Carl Cheffers said in a pool report. “The defender gained possession of it at that point. The defender is the one that completed the process of the catch, so the defender was awarded the ball.”

Bills coach Sean McDermott couldn’t challenge the ruling because of the league’s overtime rules, so he called a timeout to give the officiating crew and replay officials a chance to take an extended look. The play already had been confirmed through the NFL’s expedited review process in New York, so the timeout essentially just gave McDermott an opportunity to get an explanation.

McDermott, of course, wasn’t pleased. But he was even more upset by the appearance of a rushed process. There are routine plays in regular-season games that are examined more in depth on replay reviews.

“When I called the timeout ... Carl came over and those guys were great. They were great, and I said, ‘Hey, what did you see?’ and then quickly, somebody said: ‘Hey, New York has confirmed. New York has confirmed,’” McDermott said. “From that point, it was a moot point. We were moving on. Had I not called a timeout, they were just moving on, it appeared. ... This is not about, ‘Hey, we lost.’ It’s not about that at all. You play the game, you play it fair and square. I just, again, wish just for the sake of the players and all the time and energy that was spent — three hours, 70-plus minutes of a game. That was a pivotal play, that’s all I’m saying.”

By definition, it seems interception was the right call. Many folks disagree.

“I have never seen a contested catch like this ever be called anything but a catch,” retired three-time All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman posted on X. “Even as a DB you know that if it’s even a (t)ie it will go to the WR. Can’t believe this decided the game.”

Dan Orlovsky, an ESPN analyst and longtime backup quarterback, said: “This in an NFL playoff game got ruled an interception and ended Buffalo’s season?!!?? This is a catch every time.”

Similar plays have been ruled both ways.

In the fourth quarter of the Rams-Bears game Sunday, Davante Adams had the ball ripped out of his hands following a 12-yard gain to Chicago's 16. But officials ruled it a catch and replay confirmed his knee was down just before he lost the ball. A few plays later, Kyren Williams gave Los Angeles a 17-10 lead with a 5-yard TD run.

There was a batted ball during a Ravens-Steelers game in Week 14 that bounced back to Aaron Rodgers but was ripped out of his hands by Teddye Buchanan, who was initially awarded an interception. But the play was overturned because it was determined that Rodgers “had control of the ball and as he was going to the ground” and “he never lost control of the ball and then his knees hit the ground in control,” according to NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth.

In Week 12, Rams defensive back Cobie Durant ripped a ball out of Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton’s hands while he was going down and returned it 50 yards for a score. Though Otton appeared to have a knee down, the play stood and was ruled an interception and touchdown.

This isn’t the first time the NFL has dealt with a catch issue in a playoff game.

There was the Dez Bryant non-catch in a divisional-round game on Jan. 11, 2015 at Green Bay that cost Dallas. The Cowboys trailed the Packers 26-21 when Tony Romo threw a deep ball on fourth down to Bryant that initially was ruled a catch inside the 1. But the play was overturned because officials determined Bryant didn’t control the ball while hitting the ground.

That led the NFL to clarify the rule and then to eventually overhaul it in 2018, when “survive the ground” was eliminated from the definition.

What is a catch?

Here is the full definition of a catch, according to the NFL rule book:

“A forward pass is complete (by the offense) or intercepted (by the defense) in the field of play, at the sideline, or in the end zone if a player, who is inbounds:

(a) secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and

(b) touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and

(c) after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, clearly performs any act common to the game (e.g., extend the ball forward, take an additional step, tuck the ball away and turn upfield, or avoid or ward off an opponent), or he maintains control of the ball long enough to do so.

Notes:

(1) Movement of the ball does not automatically result in loss of control.

(2) If a player, who satisfied (a) and (b), but has not satisfied (c), contacts the ground and loses control of the ball, it is an incomplete pass if the ball hits the ground before he regains control, or if he regains control out of bounds.”

The rule book also weighs in on two players catching a ball at the same time:

“If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both players retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control. If the ball is muffed after simultaneous touching by two such players, all the players of the passing team become eligible to catch the loose ball.”

A catch can be complex. Sometimes it’s difficult to see in real time and it can even be hard to determine on replay.

Brandon Miller scores 23 to lead Hornets over injury-depleted Nuggets 110-87

DENVER (AP) — Brandon Miller scored 23 points, Tidjane Salaun came off the bench for 13 points and 11 rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets blew past the injury-depleted Denver Nuggets 110-87 on Sunday night.

Rookie big man Ryan Kalkbrenner had 17 points and six rebounds, Collin Sexton had 14 points and five assists, and LaMelo Ball had 10 points, six assists and three steals for Charlotte.

Over the past three games, Miller has averaged 25.7 points per game.

The Hornets had lost four of their previous six games and entered the night 1-9 in its past 10 matchups against Denver, which suffered its second-most lopsided loss of the season.

The Nuggets were without five of their top eight scorers — center Nikola Jokic (bone bruise in left knee), forward Aaron Gordon (right hamstring strain), forward Cameron Johnson (bone bruise in right knee), guard Christian Braun (left ankle sprain) and center Jonas Valanciunas (right calf strain). The five players combine to average 77.3 points per game.

Without them, a Denver team that leads the NBA in points per game, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage was held to season lows in points (87) and 3-point percentage (21.1%).

Charlotte raced out to a 29-11 lead and was up 60-34 at halftime, led by 18 points from Miller, who made four of his six 3s in the first half. The Hornets led by as many as 33 points in the second half.

Jamal Murray scored a team-high 16 points for the Nuggets, snapping a career-best run of three consecutive games with at least 30 points.

Denver, which had won six of its previous seven games, fell to 7-5 since Jokic went down with an injury in a Dec. 29 loss at the Miami Heat.

Up next

Hornets: Return home to face the Cavaliers on Wednesday night after a five-game road trip.

Nuggets: Host the Lakers on Tuesday night.