Broncos quarterback Bo Nix suffered a broken bone in his right ankle on the final series of Denver’s 33-30 overtime victory against the Buffalo Bills, an injury that will require surgery and keep him out for the rest of the season, coach Sean Payton announced.

Nix is scheduled to have surgery in Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday.

Jarrett Stidham will be the starter for the Broncos in next week’s AFC Championship Game against either the New England Patriots or Houston Texans. Sam Ehlinger will be his backup.

“Stiddy’s ready to go,” Payton said.

The announcement was a stunning one and came after Payton had initially addressed the media following Denver’s thrilling overtime win, then returned to provide the update on his starting quarterback.

“The one thing about it is he’s such a strong, faith-based guy,” Payton said of Nix. “He knows God’s got a plan for him. … He’s a tough cookie. This team all year has lost key players. We’ll rise up for the next challenge and go from there.”

The injury happened late in Denver’s final drive, as Nix ran to the left on first-and-10 and was tackled for a 2-yard loss by Bills safety Cole Bishop. Nix then drew a pass interference penalty on a deep throw to Marvin Mims Jr. He then limped off the field after kneeling the ball to set up Wil Lutz’s game-winning field goal.

Nix, consoled by his family and Payton after the game, told his coach he suffered a similar injury in high school and again at Auburn.

“I said, ‘I didn’t realize that. If I had known that, I wouldn’t have drafted you,’” Payton told Nix, a joke that belied the hurt both men were feeling in the aftermath of what proved to be a bittersweet night for the franchise.

Nix produced 308 yards of total offense and threw three touchdown passes on Saturday. He led a go-ahead drive late in the fourth quarter, hitting Mims on a picture-perfect 26-yard pass in the front corner of the end zone. He followed that up by guiding the Broncos into field-goal range after Ja’Quan McMillian’s diving interception of Josh Allen during Buffalo’s first possession of overtime.

“For him, his passion, his composure, his leadership, his running ability, Bo can make a play out of anything,” Mims said in Denver’s locker room before news of Nix’s season-ending injury had reached players. “He’s been great this year.”

Nix guided the Broncos to 24 regular-season wins during his first two seasons, tied for the most by a quarterback in his first two seasons in NFL history. He helmed the Broncos to a No. 1 seed in the AFC after they tied a franchise record with 14 wins. He authored seven game-winning drives in the regular season to add to his first such postseason drive Saturday night.

Now, as the Broncos prepare to play for a berth in the Super Bowl, Nix will be forced to watch from afar as he recovers from next week’s surgery. Payton said he typically would have waited until a team meeting the following morning to share the news of an injury with the magnitude of the one Nix suffered Saturday. But the odds of the news not getting out, Payton said, “were impossible.”

“In essence, I’m talking to the team now,” Payton said. “They’ll be disappointed. There will be a lot of emotions. And then the refocus takes place. We celebrate the season for him.”

Now, the Broncos will turn to Stidham, the 29-year-old veteran who has made four career starts, including two with Denver at the end of the 2023 season. He has never started a playoff game. Stidham was a fourth-round pick of the Patriots in 2019, spending one season behind Tom Brady and one season with the Las Vegas Raiders before signing with Denver to back up Russell Wilson ahead of the 2023 season. Stidham then competed with Nix for the starting job in training camp ahead of the 2024 season, but the job went to Nix.

“He’s ready,” Payton said of Stidham. “I said this at the beginning of the season: I feel like we have a (backup quarterback) who is capable of starting for a number of teams. I know who feels the same way. Watch out. Just watch.”