Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham will be thrown into the fire for Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the Patriots — but he isn’t the first backup quarterback to be in this position.
Former Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler — who famously took over for an injured Phil Simms at the end of the 1990 regular season and helped Big Blue capture the Super Bowl championship that season — gave some words of wisdom to Stidham ahead of the biggest game of his NFL career.
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“My advice to [Stidham] is to block out the noise,’’ Hostetler told The Denver Gazette. “That’s really hard to do because you’ve got reporters asking questions. They were asking me things like, ‘This coach doesn’t think you can get it done. ‘[John] Madden doesn’t think you can get it done.’
Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham looks to pass against the Los Angeles Rams before an NFL preseason football game Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, in Denver. AP
“My big thing is don’t make the game bigger than just another football game,’’ Hostetler added. “Obviously, it’s the playoffs and it’s one and done and this is your chance to go to the Super Bowl. But you‘ve got to put that stuff aside and just do your job and go have some fun out there.”
Stidham, who has started just four NFL games since being drafted in 2019 by the Patriots, has been slotted in as the Broncos’ QB1 following starter Bo Nix’s devastating season-ending ankle injury that he suffered during Denver’s 33-30 overtime win over the Bills last round.
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Hostetler, who had two regular season games to adjust as opposed to the urgency of Stidham’s situation, said that no one believed in him when he took over for Simms.
“Heck, there wasn’t anybody outside our locker room who thought I could do the job,” Hostetler continued. “I can probably count outside the locker room on one hand the people who thought I could do it, and they were all family members.”
In this Jan. 27, 1991, file photo, New York Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler celebrates a second-quarter touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during NFL football’s Super Bowl XXV in Tampa, Fla. AP
Hostetler spent seven years as a backup quarterback with the Giants before joining the Raiders as a starter for the 1993 season. He earned a Pro Bowl appearance the following year.
In addition to Hostetler, Nick Foles took down Tom Brady as a backup quarterback for the Eagles, leading them to a Super Bowl win over the Patriots in 2018.
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Foles also sent out some words of encouragement to Denver — which is playing New England in the AFC title game — noting his Super Bowl victory over the Patriots.
“A positive note going into the game versus the Patriots is that they struggle against backup QBs in championship-type games,” Foles posted to X earlier this week.
The Broncos face off against New England on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.