Bo Nix’s broken ankle has placed Jarrett Stidham into most unusual territory.
After throwing no passes and taking four offensive snaps all season, Stidham will take over as starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos in the AFC title game against the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Stidham hasn’t thrown a pass in a regular-season or playoff game since starting the final two games in 2023, getting his only action in practice and the preseason since then.
According to Sportradar, Stidham will be the seventh quarterback since starts began being tracked in 1950 to start a playoff game in a season in which he didn’t start in the regular season.
Frank Reich was the only one of the previous six to win as a fill-in when he won two starts for the Buffalo Bills in the 1992 playoffs in place of Jim Kelly.
Stidham will join Joe Webb as the only quarterbacks to start a playoff game after not throwing a pass in the regular season, and he’ll be the second to make his first start in the conference title game or Super Bowl. Roger Staubach made his first start in the 1972 season in the NFC title game for the Dallas Cowboys, the year after he was named Super Bowl MVP.
Here’s a look at the six quarterbacks who started a playoff game in a season in which they had no regular-season starts.
Taylor Heinicke, 2020 Washington Football Team
Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke looks to pass against the Buccaneers during the second half of an NFC wild-card game Jan. 9, 2021, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Heinicke had bounced around the NFL for more than five years when Washington signed him to its practice squad late in the 2020 season. He replaced Dwayne Haskins late in a Week 16 loss but reverted to a backup role the following week behind Alex Smith.
Smith won the finale to clinch a playoff berth with a 7-9 record but was unavailable for the wild-card round because of a calf injury. Heinicke stepped in and made his second career start, throwing for 306 yards and a touchdown in a loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Connor Cook, 2016 Oakland Raiders
Raiders quarterback Connor Cook is sacked by Texans outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus during the second half of an AFC wild-card game Jan. 7, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A promising season for the Raiders ended in disappointment in 2016. Derek Carr led the team to its first playoff berth in 14 years but broke his leg in Week 16. Matt McGloin started the season finale but got hurt, setting the stage for rookie Cook to make his first career start in a wild-card game in Houston.
Cook was 18 of 45 for 161 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in a 27-14 loss to the Texans and never appeared in an NFL game again.
Joe Webb, 2012 Minnesota Vikings
Vikings quarterback Joe Webb in the grasp of Packers outside linebacker Dezman Moses on Jan. 5, 2013, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. (Chris Polydoroff/Pioneer Press)
Webb had played only three offensive snaps — one fewer than Stidham this season — when he was called on to start a wild-card game against the Green Bay Packers after Christian Ponder went down with an elbow injury.
Webb had started two games in 2010 but hadn’t thrown a single pass in 2012 before the game against the Packers. He was 11 of 30 for 180 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a 24-10 loss.
Frank Reich, 1992 Buffalo Bills
Quarterback Frank Reich passes against the Oilers during the Bills’ rally from a 32-point deficit to win an AFC playoff game Jan. 3, 1993, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (John Hickey/AP)
After Jim Kelly hurt his knee in the season finale, Reich got the nod for the wild-card game against the Houston Oilers and delivered a memorable performance.
Buffalo fell into a 35-3 hole early in the third quarter before Reich engineered the biggest comeback in playoff history. He threw four touchdown passes to lead the Bills to a 41-38 overtime win. Reich followed that up with a win the next week in Pittsburgh before Kelly returned for an AFC title game win against the Miami Dolphins.
Gary Danielson, 1983 Detroit Lions
After starting all 16 games in 1980 for the Lions, Danielson split time the next two seasons with Eric Hipple. Danielson got benched for Hipple for a playoff game in 1982 after leading the team to a win in the finale to clinch a postseason berth.
Hipple then started all 16 games in 1983, with Danielson coming off the bench 10 times to throw 113 passes and seven touchdown passes. But Hipple hurt his knee in the season finale, and Danielson made his first start of the 1983 season in the divisional round against the San Francisco 49ers.
The results were rough as Danielson threw five interceptions — four in the first half — but still almost came out with a win. Joe Montana threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Freddie Solomon with 1:23 to play to make it 24-23. Danielson led Detroit into field-goal range, only for Eddie Murray to miss a 43-yarder in the closing seconds.
Roger Staubach, 1972 Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach rears back to pass 22 yards to Ron Sellers on a third-down play late in the second quarter of the NFC championship game against Washington on Dec. 31, 1972. (AP)
Staubach had led the Cowboys to a Super Bowl title in the 1971 season but separated his shoulder in a preseason game. Craig Morton took over as the starter and kept the job even when Staubach was healthy again late in the season.
But coach Tom Landry went to Staubach in the divisional round with Dallas trailing the 49ers 28-13, and he engineered one of the biggest playoff comebacks ever. Staubach threw for two touchdowns in the final 90 seconds to help the Cowboys win 30-28 and advance to the NFC title game.
Staubach then got his first start since winning Super Bowl MVP the previous season, but he struggled in a 26-3 loss to Washington.