Most of the conversation surrounding the New England Patriots as they prepare to take on the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship has not been that favorable to the winners of the AFC East. That mainly came about once their opponent announced that their starting quarterback, Bo Nix, had broken his foot and wouldn't play in the biggest game of their season.
It immediately put the Patriots' season in the spotlight, particularly their postseason run, and the questions about the toughness of their schedule was the topic once again. Despite being on the path to face a gauntlet of defenses in the playoffs, they're still not being treated as a serious team, and the Broncos hope to prove that by beating them on their home turf.
It's led head coach Sean Payton to hype up interim starting QB Jarrett Stidham, who the Patriots drafted in 2019, as better than just a backup and a player who could be starting for several teams across the league.
Clearly, the Patriots somewhat agree about his talent, given that they were interested in signing him this past offseason. But it didn't take long for Milton Williams to point out a fatal flaw that Denver seems to forget about.
Milton Williams doesn't sugarcoat who the Patriots' defense is about to face on the Broncos' offense
While speaking to reporters this week, the superstar defensive tackle was asked about the upcoming battle against the Broncos, more specifically, Stidham, and it didn't take long for Williams to make the point that others are glossing over: Stidham wasn't good enough to be the starter, despite Payton trying to claim otherwise.
If he were as good as he says he is, they wouldn't have drafted Nix last season, in the first round, too, and Nix wouldn't have been a day one starter, either, as that would've obviously gone to Stidham.
#Patriots DT Milton Williams when asked what he knows about Broncos QB Jarrett Stidham:
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) January 21, 2026
"Nothing. Nothing. I ain't gon’ lie, nothing. We're gonna watch the tape on him and figure out what he like to do. But, they didn't like him over the Bo [Nix], so."
(🎥 @Patriots) pic.twitter.com/rA3YgVsc2v
That isn't to say Stidham is a bad quarterback; he's clearly not, since he's still in the league and was pursued by a few teams if he had made it to free agency.
However, this belief that there isn't going to be a drop-off in quarterback production from Nix to Stidham seems like an outlandish thing to suggest, especially with Nix being considered a reach in the first round last year, and Stidham never winning a starting job anywhere.
Of course, his current team isn't going to go to the podium and downplay what he can do for them in their starter's place, but they also don't need to be overhyping him to the level that they are.
We'll have to see what happens on Sunday, and maybe we'll see a far better performance from Stidham than anyone anticipates. But it will hopefully be a factor that works in the Patriots' defense's favor and helps them get another big-time win to get to Super Bowl LX.