DENVER (AP) — If any opponent is familiar with Denver Broncos fill-in quarterback Jarrett Stidham, it's the New England Patriots, who drafted him in 2019 to serve as Tom Brady's backup.

When Josh McDaniels took the Las Vegas Raiders' head coaching job, he traded for Stidham, who backed up Derek Carr for two years before signing with Denver, where he served as Russell Wilson's No. 2, then as Bo Nix's right-hand man.

After McDaniels returned to New England for his third stint as offensive coordinator last offseason, the Patriots were interested in a reunion with Stidham, but he chose to stay in Denver.

With Nix recovering from surgery after breaking his right ankle on Denver's game-winning drive in overtime against Buffalo last weekend, Stidham steps in Sunday when the Broncos (15-3) host Drake Maye and the Patriots (16-3) in the AFC championship game.

Although Nix was integral to Denver's success this season — he engineered six comebacks in the fourth quarter or overtime and and led Denver to an NFL-best 12-2 record in one-score games — his coaches and teammates insist they're equally confident Stidham can lead them to the Super Bowl.

“We’re lucky to have him,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said, “because not everybody has a quarterback waiting in the wings as talented as Jarrett.”

Although the Patriots brass knows Stidham well, defensive tackle Milton Williams didn't mince his words when asked what he knew about the sixth-year QB who hasn't thrown a pass in two years.

“Nothing. I ain’t going to lie," he said. "Nothing. We’re going to watch the tape on him and figure out what he likes to do. But they didn’t like him over Bo, so.”

Of course, no team likes their backup QB more than their starter, but Broncos coach Sean Payton insists Stidham could start for any number of other NFL teams.

Stidham may not have quite the resume of Nix, but he's no slouch, said Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

“He’s in the NFL for a reason," Gonzalez said. "They believe in him, they brought him up, so we’ve got to prepare and be ready for him. They’re in this game for a reason, too. They’ve got a lot of weapons on the offensive side.”

And they might get running back J.K. Dobbins back from foot surgery. The Broncos' backfield has averaged one fewer yard per carry and 29 fewer yards per game since Dobbins got hurt Nov. 6. His return could take a big load off Stidham's shoulders.

“He’s been a great back in this league for a long time," Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane said. “He’s a physical downhill runner who breaks tackles and makes big, explosive runs for them. If he’s out there, we’re just going to have to do great at building a wall and swarming to the tackle.”

Maye had an MVP-caliber season in his second year in the league and first one under McDaniels' tutelage. But he's had an puzzling postseason, getting sacked 10 times, throwing two interceptions, fumbling six times and losing half of them but still beating the Chargers and Texans handily.

“Really impressive,” Payton said. “He’s extremely fast and those come from obviously pocket scrambles, but he can run. We had that challenge a week ago. It seems like every third week you have that challenge of someone that you have to make sure your pocket rushes are on point.”

Denver's defense led the league in sacks with 68 but they had a dearth of takeaways until collecting five against the Bills last week.

That defense and a good ground game could make a world of difference for Stidham as he faces his former team in the biggest game of a career that features just four starts and one victory, on Dec. 31, 2023, against the Chargers.

“I'm very appreciative of New England for giving me a shot in this league, drafting me,” said Stidham, whose only play-callers in his NFL career have been McDaniels and Payton.

But it wasn't a hard choice last spring when he re-signed with Denver for $12 million over two years. He said he believes in Payton — “It's pretty obvious that he has the train rolling in the right direction” — QBs coach Davis Webb, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and that he really enjoys working with Nix.

“I felt like over the last two years that I was here that I got a lot better,” said Stidham, who gets the chance to show it this weekend.

Biggest home underdog

The Broncos without Nix are the biggest home underdog ever in a conference championship game. Oddsmakers installed the Patriots, who went 8-0 on the road, as five-point favorites.

“Everybody’s been doubting us” all along, McGlinchey said. “We won 14 games and people are saying we’re the worst 1 seed in the history of the playoffs. So, that’s nothing new. ... Certainly we are a team that’s been battle-tested. We’ve handled adversity every step of the way and we’re incredibly confident moving forward in our team.”

Family ties

Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss will face one of his brothers for the second time this season with Broncos linebacker Jonah Elliss on the opposing sideline.

Christian faced their brother Kaden, who plays for the Atlanta Falcons, on Nov. 2. This will be the first meeting between Christian and Jonah, and the sixth time Elliss brothers have played against each other.

“It’s a huge blessing for our family,” Christian said. “One of us is going to the Super Bowl one way or the other. So we’re very excited. For me, it’s a little bit of smack talking ... and we’ll have a little side bet, and the loser will be reminded forever.”

After applying the pressure all season, Broncos defense now producing turnovers in playoffs

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Finally, all that pressure paid off for pass rusher Nik Bonitto and the Denver defense. Finally, the Broncos produced what's been missing much of the season — takeaways.

It's been a long time coming for a defense that's been one of the best in the NFL. The Broncos forced five turnovers last weekend against the Buffalo Bills, four from Josh Allen, who hadn't coughed up the ball in his previous six playoff games.

They may be under pressure to turn in a similar sort of turnover-fest against Drake Maye and the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game Sunday. That way, they can take the pressure off backup Jarrett Stidham, who's taking over at QB with Bo Nix out with a broken ankle.

The Broncos led the league with 68 sacks but had only 14 takeaways.

“Everyone’s been saying it for the whole season, that it would eventually flip,” linebacker Alex Singleton said.

It did, and they needed every one of them to beat the Bills 33-30 in overtime on a field goal set up by Ja'Quan McMillian's interception on a deep throw to Brandin Cooks.

The Broncos were one of the best teams at applying pressure in the regular season, but they only had 10 interceptions and four fumble recoveries to show for it.

“I just feel like the emphasis that we put on these last couple of weeks, on creating turnovers and just knowing that we have the guys to go do it, I feel like it’s been real good,” Bonitto said. “We’ve been seeing the turnovers and more attempts at the ball and stuff like that. It’s been real crucial.”

Bonitto forced two fumbles from Allen, in part because of something defensive coordinator Vance Joseph told him.

“He's like, 'You know, if you get the ball, you can still get a sack,” cracked Bonitto, who finished fifth in the league with 14 sacks. “We’ve been working on it.”

It's a talented defense led by All-Pro defensive lineman Zach Allen, Bonitto and star cornerback Pat Surtain II. They ranked in the top 10 in total yards (second), yards rushing (second) and yards passing (seventh).

The Broncos finally started taking the ball away when they got to the postseason.

“It’s playoff football and turnovers are very critical,” Surtain explained. “I think turnovers are the key element to wins and losses, especially this time of the year. So, to be able to accumulate that many turnovers, it definitely helps us to win games.”

So far in the playoffs, Maye has thrown two picks and lost three fumbles but has still beaten the Texans and Chargers handily.

"We’ve got to find a way to eliminate the explosives on their side and find a way to contain them,” Surtain said. "Looking forward to the matchup.”

It was a big day of honors for the defense with Bonitto named a finalist for the AP defensive player of the year award and Joseph a finalist for AP's coordinator of the year. Joseph also won the Professional Football Writers of America's Assistant Coach of the Year honor.

Bonitto is in contention with Will Anderson Jr., Aidan Hutchinson, Micah Parsons and Myles Garrett for the AP Defensive Player of the Year award that went to Surtain last year. Garrett is a big favorite following a record-setting 23-sack season.

“I would not be mad at all. You break the record, I mean, you definitely deserve it,” Bonitto said. “Just the thought of me being up there is pretty cool.”

Joseph, who's up for several head coaching vacancies this cycle, burnished his resume. He gave credit to his players and staff.

“When you win games in this league, more coaches get rewards, players obviously get rewards,” Joseph said. "It speaks to our team winning.”

Peyton Watson scores career-high 35 points as short-handed Nuggets outlast Wizards 107-97

WASHINGTON (AP) — Peyton Watson scored a career-high 35 points to lead the short-handed Denver Nuggets to a 107-97 victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.

Jamal Murray added 24 points for the Nuggets, who avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season. Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points in his return after missing 11 games with a strained calf. Aaron Gordon also scored 16 points.

Nikola Jokic missed his 13th consecutive game for Denver with a hyperextended left knee.

Kyshawn George scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Washington, which lost its eighth in a row. Tre Johnson added 19 points for the Wizards, who dropped 14 consecutive games from late October to early December.

Washington shot a season-worst 38.1% (32 of 84) to sink to 10-33, one game ahead of last-place Indiana in the Eastern Conference. The Wizards never never led after halftime, but pulled into an 83-all tie after Alex Sarr's free throw early in the fourth quarter.

Denver responded with a 9-0 run, with Watson making a 3-pointer and another jumper during the stretch. He later surpassed his previous season and career best of 32 points with a free throw with 1:50 remaining after overcoming an awkward fall during a contested dunk attempt.

Up next

Nuggets: Visit Milwaukee on Friday night.

Wizards: Visit Charlotte on Saturday night.

Granlund, Gauthier score in shootout as Ducks beat Avalanche 2-1

DENVER (AP) — Mikael Granlund and Cutter Gauthier scored in the shootout and Lukas Dostal stopped 40 shots as Anaheim defeated the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche for the Ducks' fifth straight win Wednesday night.

Jeffrey Viel scored in his second straight game as the Ducks opened a six-game road trip.

Artturi Lehkonen scored for Colorado, and Scott Wedgewood made 16 saves.

Alex Killorn played in his 1,000th career NHL game. He spent 11 years with Tampa Bay, winning the Stanley Cup twice, before signing with Anaheim as a free agent in 2023.

Colorado forward Valeri Nichushkin returned after missing Monday night's win over the Washington Capitals. He was involved in a car accident on his way to the rink and was held out as a precaution.

The Avalanche played without Gabriel Landeskog (upper body), defenseman Devon Toews (upper) and forward Joel Kiviranta (lower body). Forward Logan O’Connor has yet to play this season as he recovers from offseason hip surgery.

Up next

Ducks visit Seattle on Friday.

Avalanche wrap up a seven-game homestand against Philadelphia on Friday.