The Denver Broncos have had a season to remember. The Broncos tied a franchise record with 14 regular-season victories, tying the 1998 team, which won Super Bowl XXXIII. Denver has reached the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 2015, another Broncos team that won the Super Bowl. <\/p>\n
But after beating the Buffalo Bills 33-30<\/a> in a Divisional Weekend game last week, Denver will face the New England Patriots on Sunday for the AFC\u2019s spot in Super Bowl LX without quarterback Bo Nix<\/a>. The former Pleasant Valley High School and Auburn QB started 25 wins in his first two seasons, the third-most in NFL history<\/a>, but an ankle injury sustained on the game-winning drive against Buffalo won\u2019t allow Nix to add to his total. He had surgery for the injury on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a bummer,\u201d Broncos Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Surtain II said<\/a>. \u201cI feel for him, just the work that he put in consistently and having a season end like this. Obviously, after the game, emotions running high, then when I heard that news, it felt like my energy was drained a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n RELATED: BO NIX: \u2018I COULDN\u2019T BE MORE EXCITED FOR WHAT\u2019S NEXT\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n But the former Alabama<\/a> All-American isn\u2019t throwing in the towel on the 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cWe ain\u2019t make it this far just to come this far,\u201d Surtain said<\/a>. \u201cSo we realize that we have a lot on the horizon to look forward to, and, I mean, this is championship football now, so we got to lock in and buy into the process.\u201d<\/p>\n Surtain<\/a> is still looking ahead for two reasons \u2013 backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham<\/a> and the Denver defense.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of confidence,\u201d Surtain said<\/a> of Stidham, who has taken four snaps this season. \u201cHe\u2019s got a type of mojo with him, a type of confidence with him that you rarely see. And I\u2019m excited for him for this opportunity. He\u2019s got everything it takes to shine on this level, and I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n Surtain defined<\/a> Stidham\u2019s mojo as \u201cjust the way how he operates, man. He\u2019s just cool, calm and collected. He come into the building every day with a smile on his face, and, you know, he talks a little trash here and there, and you got to enjoy that and you look forward to that when you see that confidence. It definitely resonates with the whole team, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n RELATED: JARRETT STIDHAM: \u2018I\u2019M JUST GOING TO GO OUT THERE AND PLAY AND BE MYSELF\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n During the regular season, the Denver defense yielded the second-fewest yards and the third-fewest points in the NFL and led the league with 68 sacks, 11 more than any other team.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always feel like every time we step out there on the field that we could change the game and always make game-changing plays,\u201d Surtain said<\/a>, \u201cand that\u2019s what we put on our shoulders. We just have full trust in each other to make plays throughout the game and to change the outcome of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n FOR MORE OF AL.COM\u2019S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE<\/a><\/p>\n New England also won 14 regular-season games, but the Patriots had to play an extra postseason contest by placing as the No. 2 seed in the AFC field. The Broncos got a bye as the No. 1 seed. New England defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3<\/a> on Jan. 11 and the Houston Texans 28-16<\/a> on Jan. 18 to reach the AFC Championship Game. <\/p>\n