The Patriots' 2025 postseason has already been far more exciting than anyone anticipated, with two wins under their belt, as they head to Denver for the AFC Championship. It's a far cry from what their season was supposed to look like, at least, according to most analysts and even some fans. But now they're actively competing to be the AFC team in the Super Bowl, and just have to take down the No. 1 seed to get there.
The last two weeks have been a defensive gauntlet for Drake Maye, and that will continue against an excellent Broncos team on Sunday. That sparked some fear among fans, since the Patriots' offense hasn't fared well over the last two weeks.
But some of that subsided when the news dropped about QB Bo Nix missing the rest of the postseason due to an injury. Confidence in New England skyrocketed a bit, especially hearing that familiar face, Jarrett Stidham, would be the starter in his place.
Yet now, Sean Payton's words about his backup have once again brought back that fear among fans.
Jarrett Stidham might be more of a nightmare for the Patriots than initialy thought
In the immediate aftermath of the devastating Nix news, Payton spoke highly of Stidham being the next man up, hyping up the quarterback ahead of the biggest game of his career.
The Patriots are fortunate to have a history with their former fourth-round pick from his time in New England and a season spent with Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas. That certainly works in their favor until hearing Payton claim he could be a starter for many teams around the league right now.
“I’ve got a 2 that’s capable of starting for a number of teams… watch out” 👀
— DNVR Broncos (@DNVR_Broncos) January 18, 2026
Sean Payton’s message to the NFL about Jarrett Stidham 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/IIOqR5Ntav
Maybe he's just hyping up his guy because he's the only option they have at this point, or there's a chance that Payton genuinely believes what he's saying.
Regardless, his take on Stidham is now being repeated by others in the league, including an anonymous NFL executive who told Mike Sando of The Athletic that the Broncos "might be better" with Stidham under center than Nix.
That's certainly not the kind of thing Patriots fans want to hear in the days leading up to the biggest game of the season, and hopefully it won't come true.
Their defense has really been the star of the show over the past month, and they'll need that kind of production to slow Stidham and the impressive offensive roster around him down. They have the fortune of facing a less mobile quarterback than Nix, but clearly, this team believes in him and doesn't anticipate much of a dip in performance on Sunday afternoon.
That means the Patriots need to exploit whatever weaknesses he has, and they'll use McDaniels' knowledge to do so. Hopefully, that will be enough to get them to the Super Bowl.