With a win over the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos Sean Payton and Jarrett Stidham can become legends on Sunday.

Payton is already one of the better coaches in NFL history, but he would only add to his resume with a win.

And Stidham would etch his name among the other Broncos greats with a win vs. the Pats.

Denver Broncos Sean Payton and Jarrett Stidham can become legends on Sunday

Few outside of Denver are picking the Broncos to upset the New England Patriots, with the Pats as 4.5-point favorites in tomorrow’s AFC Championship Game.

Denver, who lost starting quarterback Bo Nix in the third-to-final play last Saturday, is now the biggest home underdog in AFC Championship Game history. The 2025 Broncos are taking that honor from the 1977 Broncos, who were 4-point underdogs against the Raiders.

Know what happened in that one? The Broncos pulled off the upset and sent John Madden and the Raiders home crying in their beers.

There’s certainly hope in Broncos Country that Sean Payton and Jarrett Stidham—along with the team’s dominant defense—can indeed pull this one out.

And both would be legendary for doing so.

Let’s start with Payton.

Considering the turnaround from absolute joke of the NFL in 2022 to in the AFC Championship Game in 2025, Payton’s legendary status is already growing within the historic Broncos franchise.

Winning the Lamar Hunt Trophy this weekend would tie him with Mike Shanahan and John Fox as the only Broncos coaches in history to reach the Super Bowl in their third season in the position. And both of those guys had Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Red Miller took the Broncos to their first-ever Super Bowl in 1977, his first year as the man in charge, after inheriting a good team from John Ralston.

But what Payton’s done has been tremendous.

Especially considering the team’s all-in approach in signing Russell Wilson in 2022, a mistake that is still weighing down the team’s payroll this season.

Wilson’s $32 million paycheck from the Broncos makes him the highest-paid player on the team, and yet, he’s not on the team.

Payton pushed the Broncos to the playoffs with a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix. No one expected that. Now, he’s on the verge of making the Super Bowl, a feat that would be only more impressive with backup Jarrett Stidham starting vs. the Pats.

Sean Payton wants to become the first-ever head coach to win a Super Bowl with two teams. That’s why he came to Denver to keep coaching in his 60s.

With a win on Sunday, he’ll get the Broncos back to the Super Bowl for the first time in 10 years. He’d have his shot at legendary status.

And while you can already credit the man for his coaching effort this year, a win against New England in the AFC Championship would be all about his coaching.

“Well you always rise to a challenge,” Payton said on Friday. “There’s a competitive part to you that’s important.”

Losing your quarterback is extremely deflating. He could’ve lost the locker room. But anyone who’s been around Payton has spoke candidly all week that he’ll have his team pumped and ready to go tomorrow.

Stiddy Up: Playing a backup quarterback’s dream in the Championship Game

Stidham and Bo Nix are incredibly close, so it’s not like he was hoping for Nix to get injured in the Divisional Round. But, now that he’s the man with the football in his hands, this has to be a dream come true for Stidham.

He’s a six-year NFL veteran on his third team. “Stiddy” has started only four games in his career, including two at the end of the 2023 season for Sean Payton and the Broncos.

Last year, he was in a quarterback competition with Nix, and once Nix was named the starter he told the media, “I know I’m a starting quarterback in this league. I have no doubts about that, and it just didn’t shake out my way.”

He’s the vibes guy. He’s the backup quarterback and supportive of his guy Bo.

But now it’s Stiddy’s offense for possibly two weeks.

Everyone outside of Broncos Country is expecting him to lay an egg against the Patriots. For him to fold under the pressure of the game and the opponent.

However, Stiddy played in multiple big games way back in college at Auburn, even knocking off No. 1 Alabama in 2017. Stidham then did the most he could with what he had in Las Vegas with the Raiders. He played the game of his life against the No. 1 defense in San Fransisco in 2022; Stiddy went 23-34 for 365 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 INT and ran for 34 yards. The sorry Raiders lost in overtime after he mounted a game-tying drive in the last minutes.

If he plays like that on Sunday, the Broncos will definitely have a chance to win.

“For myself, I just want to go out there and play the absolute best I can for the guys in this locker room. That’s all I really care about,” Stidham said on Thursday.

Winning an AFC Championship would be straight-up legendary for Stidham. He would join Peyton Manning, John Elway, and Craig Morton as the only Broncos QBs to accomplish the feat.

The only way Stiddy is successful is if Payton coaches him and the offense up.

Payton needs to draw up a game plan that his backup can succeed with, whether that’s leaning on the run game and RJ Harvey, throwing lots of screens, and/or letting Stidham gain yards with his legs.

If the Broncos win on Sunday, they’ll both be absolute legends, even if the Broncos go on to lose in Super Bowl LX.

Here’s hoping they put on their best horseshoes for luck.