Jarrett Stidham 'Did Little' in Broncos' QB of the Future Audition

The Denver Broncos defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 16-9 on Sunday but were ultimately eliminated from playoff contention due to wins from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs. Jarrett Stidham started at quarterback on Sunday following Russell Wilson’s benching.

Stidham played "fine," considering he received his only first-team reps of the year this week. But if you were expecting a fireworks show, you were severely disappointed.

However, the Broncos came out on top, and while their playoff dreams are in the dumpster, they still have a chance to finish with a winning record. The divorce between Wilson and head coach Sean Payton is taking over every conversation in the Broncos space and will continue to do so this week and through the offseason.

The Broncos are in an interesting spot after Stidham put up a stat line comparable to Wilson against the Chargers. When it comes to NFL.com's Week 18 power rankings, the Broncos didn’t move an inch after their victory.

Eric Edholm believes that the arranged marriage between Wilson and Payton has ended in Dove Valley. 

Broncos Rank: 22

Denver resurrected itself after a 1-5 start to the season that included a 50-point drubbing -- but winning six of seven games (including five straight) apparently just delayed the inevitable. Eventually, it seems the arranged marriage between Sean Payton and Russell Wilson is likely to come to an end in some form or another, and it might not be the cleanest divorce in history. It will be interesting to see how much of a chance Jarrett Stidham gets as the starter next season. Playing a lower-salaried starting QB would have its obvious appeals, and Payton could opt to pair Stidham with a promising rookie as a way of potentially offsetting Wilson’s imminent dead-money salary-cap hit, should Wilson be cut. Stidham was fine Sunday in his first start with the team, but that one game alone did little to suggest he’s the no-questions-asked favorite to be QB1 in 2024. There’s still a lot to sort out -- and with Payton running the show, things are seldom bland.

Indeed, one takeaway from Denver's Week 17 win was that nothing Stidham showed should forestall the Broncos from fully gearing up for a bonafide quarterback search in 2024. Wilson isn't long for Denver. 

It’s clear now that Wilson and Payton are not an ideal-paring. Payton's rough, no-nonsense demeanor clashes heavily with Wilson's neutral attitude.

While factors outside of Wilson’s play, like his contract, influenced his benching, his play on the field outside the fourth quarter has left much to be desired. His knack for bailing out of a clean pocket is his most glaring weakness, and it's affected the Broncos' offense in a multitude of ways.

There's no quarterback more detrimental to his offensive line than Wilson. By no means has Denver’s line been perfect, but it's a solid unit overall and has ranked within the top 10 by Pro Football Focus for multiple weeks.

Watching Wilson bail out of a clean pocket into the arms of a defender has been frustrating. He can make some absolute magic happen when he leaves the pocket, but when a player's unpredictability becomes paradoxically predictable, it can be problematic.

Payton prefers to work within the structure of the plays he’s calling, so it makes sense that Wilson could be hard to work around. Payton made the decision to thrust Stidham into a starting role because he can run the offense more efficiently than Wilson can.

Only receiving first-team reps this week and playing without Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims Jr., and right tackle Mike McGlinchey, Stidham played comparable to Wilson. Wilson’s stat line against L.A. a couple of weeks back came out to 224 yards with two touchdowns, one interception, and a 91 QB rating. 

In Stidham’s first start, he also passed for an eery 224 yards with a touchdown and no picks and a 93.8 passer rating. The fact that their stats are so similar is quite conspicuous and alarming, considering one is getting paid a fraction of the other.

The Broncos winning six out of seven games after a 1-5 start, primarily due to the defense going on a historic takeaway spree, masked the many flaws this team still has. Going into the Week 18 finale against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Broncos will have a chance to secure a winning record for the first time since 2016. 

A win on Sunday could be critical in harnessing some momentum going into what is sure to be an intriguing offseason.