Broncos’ Jarrett Stidham gets advice from patron saint of hero backup QBs

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Broncos’ Jarrett Stidham gets advice from patron saint of hero backup QBs

Matt Vautour · MassLive

Thu, Jan 22, 2026 ·

3 min read

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As the Broncos get set to play the Patriots for a trip to the Super Bowl with Jarrett Stidham under center, Jeff Hostetler, the patron saint of hero backup quarterbacks, had some advice.

Stidham, who hasn’t thrown a pass in a game since 2023, is taking over for Bo Nix , who broke his ankle in the final minutes of Denver ’s overtime win over Buffalo last week. The former Patriots backup is going from near anonymity to the spotlight.

Hostetler famously took over for injured starter Phil Simms with two weeks left in the 1990 season and led the Giants through the playoffs.

After Buffalo’s Scott Norwood famously missed a would-be game-winning field goal, Hostetler joined the ranks of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks.

He and Giants coach Bill Parcells spoke to the Denver Post this week about Stidham.

“In Stidham’s case, he knows what he has to do. And he has to put the blinders on. That’s what I did,” said Hostetler, who was 29 then and is now 64. “All the talking heads, the ones who supposedly know everything, they don’t know what you can do. Parcells told me, ‘Play within yourself.’ I couldn’t run the routes, block or pick up the blitz. But I could make the reads and put us in the right position. You can’t try to prove yourself. You have to focus on your job.”

Hostetler had just two career starts at quarterback before Simms went down, spending most of his career as a holder for Giants placekickers, back when that was a common role for the backup QB. He admitted to the Post that he’d told his wife he’d contemplated quitting earlier in the year because of his lack of opportunity.

“I couldn’t handle the frustration anymore. Lo and behold, the Lord had a different plan for me,” Hostetler said. “Seven weeks later I was standing at a podium with a Super Bowl trophy in my hand.”

Broncos coach Sean Payton was Parcells’ offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys and the two men are still close. Payton appears to be following Parcells’ successful playbook. He’s projecting extreme confidence on Stidham, perhaps in hopes that it will rub off on the rest of the team and the quarterback himself.

“Well, I was trying to show confidence in Hostetler. He had been with us for six years. His teammates knew what he could do. They are smart,” Parcells told the Post. “They had to know we could win with him, and if we didn’t it was because of the other guys.”

Payton told Broncos fans to be loud and energetic this week against the Patriots because they’d have time to recover before the next game, the Super Bowl.

“Well, they’re going to have plenty of rest after this one,” Payton said. “Two weeks.”

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