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Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix suffered a fractured bone in his ankle late in the 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday and will have season-ending surgery. Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham will start in Nix's place in the AFC Championship game against either the New England Patriots or Houston Texans. 

Broncos coach Sean Payton confirmed the injury after the game, saying it occurred on the second-to-last play of overtime. 

"On the second to last play in overtime, Bo fractured a bone in his right ankle," Payton said. "He's scheduled to have surgery Tuesday of this week, which will put him out for the rest of the season. [Stidham's] ready to go. Yeah it was the second to last play before he threw the pass to [Marvin] Mims."

Payton saying the "second to last play" caused a bit of confusion, but if it was the play before the downfield pass attempt to Mims, that was a designed quarterback run by Nix that lost two yards. After that play, he threw a deep ball to Mims that drew a crucial pass interference penalty that gave the Broncos a first and goal. Nix then took a knee to set Wil Lutz up for the game-winning field goal. 

Nix finished Saturday completing 26-of-46 passes for 279 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He was also the Broncos' leading rusher with 29 yards on 12 carries. 

Jarrett Stidham has not thrown a pass in either of the last two regular seasons for the Broncos, as Nix took all of the snaps for the Broncos at quarterback in every game in the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Now he'll be thrust into the starting role in the biggest game of the season. Denver can lean on the fact that they get to host the AFC Championship Game and the defense has played outstanding down the stretch. The Broncos forced four turnovers of Bills QB Josh Allen on Saturday night.

The Broncos were also a Super Bowl favorite heading into the weekend. However, with the news of Nix's injury, their odds have dropped down to +850 at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Stidham has started four career games with a 1-3 record -- two with the Raiders in 2022 and two with the Broncos in 2023.