Former Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham leads Broncos to early 7-0 lead

LAS VEGAS -- The Raiders haven't enjoyed this much conversation in the week leading up to the AFC Championship in years. Some might say decades.

Two topics surrounding one position: the quarterback.

First of all, with the top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, the Raiders are expected to take Indiana quarterback and Heisman winner Francisco Mendoza, who just led the Hoosiers to the national championship.

Second, former backup Jarrett Stidham is in the spotlight for AFC West-rival Denver, after starter Bo Nix scrambled to his left last week, but injured himself on the tackle.

After the game, coach Sean Payton announced Nix had fractured a bone in his right ankle and was done for the rest of the playoffs.

Next man up: Stidham, who led the Broncos to an early 7-0 lead with a touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton.

Stidham hasn't started a game since 2023, his season with the Broncos. Prior to that, he had made his first NFL starts with the Raiders, taking over as the starter after the since-traded and retired Derek Carr was benched for the final two games of his Raiders career.

Stidham completed 64% of his passes, throwing four touchdowns against three interceptions in those starts.

Now, Stidham will make his first career playoff start against the New England Patriots, also one of his former teams.

Bill Belichick and the Patriots drafted Stidham in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft to back up Tom Brady, which is saying something.

Josh McDaniels, who served as offensive coordinator in New England when Stidham was drafted, was the coach of the Raiders when he brought him to Las Vegas to help implement his system. McDaniels is back with New England, so Stidham might be of some assistance to the defense when it comes to scouting.

And make note, when Stidham was brought to Denver by Sean Payton, he was brought there to back up Russell Wilson and was the fourth-highest-paid reserve quarterback.

Maybe, just maybe, Stidham isn't that big of a drop off from Nix, who ranked 13th in PFF grade, 15th in total QBR and 15th in most analysts' composite quarterback metrics, which play into turnover-worthy plays. Even further, Nix is 26th in quarterback rating.

Brace yourselves Broncos fans, as your Super Bowl hopes are partly in the hands of a former Raider.