Broncos defense must carry team again as backup QB Stidham set to start AFC championship game

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Denver’s defense carried Peyton Manning across the finish line in Super Bowl 50 and Vance Joseph's bunch will almost certainly have to lead the way for the Broncos to get back to Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area for Super Bowl 60.

The Broncos (15-3) host the New England Patriots (16-3) in the AFC championship game Sunday with a journeyman backup QB making his first start in more than two years, a tattered receiving group and little ground game to speak of unless J.K. Dobbins somehow returns from a mid-November foot operation.

A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that the Broncos are opening the practice window for Dobbins, whose injury was originally suspected to be season-ending, giving the Broncos a chance to get him back Sunday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team didn't announce the move.

Bo Nix broke his right ankle on Denver's game-winning drive in overtime as the Broncos wrestled their biggest win in a decade from Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills with a 33-30 thriller that sent both tears and barbs flowing in the Bills locker room.

Jarrett Stidham, who has appeared in 20 games in six NFL seasons, starting four and winning one, will step in for Nix, who's undergoing surgery Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama. Save for the preseason, Stidham hasn't started a game — or even thrown a pass — in more than two years.

“He will be ready to go and ready for the moment,” coach Sean Payton said.

Because Nix's injury wasn't announced until an hour after the game and the locker room had already closed, Monday provided the first chance for teammates to comment on Nix's injury and their quarterback situation.

“First of all, obviously incredibly heartbreaking for Bo,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. "He's worked his butt off to get here. He's led this team every step of the way ever since he got in this building. ... In terms of Stiddy, I think I'm also going to hammer home the confidence that Sean put out there because being around Stiddy for the last three years now ... this guy just loves football. And he's been absorbing everything that we've been doing. He's been ready for this opportunity.”

All-Pro defensive lineman Zach Allen echoed those sentiments, saying, “Bo is a huge part of us getting to this point so we feel terrible for him ... but we have full faith in Stiddy,” whom he said shows up first every day and always tested the defense in practice, “so we’re excited to see what he does this week.”

As far as Dobbins' possible return, McGlinchey called him “a huge energy piece for our team,” and said, "It would be a great boost if he's healthy.”

Stidham almost certainly won't have two of the Broncos' best receivers after Troy Franklin pulled a hamstring and Pat Bryant suffered his second concussion in a month during the Broncos' first playoff victory since Super Bowl 50.

Denver’s defense heeded Payton's edict ahead of the playoffs to produce more takeaways after the Broncos were minus-3 in turnover differential during the season despite an NFL-leading and franchise-record 68 sacks. They forced the Bills into five turnovers.

The Broncos' ground game was almost nonexistent against the Bills with Nix leading the way with 29 yards on a dozen carries. Jaleel McLaughlin had 21 yards on four rushes and rookie R.J. Harvey had 20 yards on six handoffs.

OLB Nik Bonitto had a strip-sack and forced both of Allen's fumbles. He became just the third Denver defender to force multiple fumbles in a playoff game, joining LB Tom Jackson and OLB Von Miller. Safety and All-Pro special teams ace Devon Key recovered James Cooks' fumble, P.J. Locke saved a touchdown with an interception and Ja'Quan McMillian's interception when he wrested the ball from Brandin Cooks in overtime set up the Broncos' game-winning drive that ended with Wil Lutz's chip-shot field goal. Talanoa Hufanga and Malcolm Roach recovered Allen's fumbles that were forced by Bonitto.

Denver's rushing attack — but Dobbins provides a glimmer of hope.

Bryant suffered his second concussion in a month. He had three catches for 32 yards on Denver's opening drive Saturday before leaving the game with the head injury. Franklin pulled a hamstring early in the game and had no targets.

— 4 field goals by Lutz in four chances, tied for second most by a Broncos kicker in the team’s playoff history, behind only Brandon McManus’ five field goals against Pittsburgh following the 2015 season. Lutz also made all three of his extra points.

— 3 TD passes from Nix against the league's No. 1 pass defense tied John Elway and Manning for most touchdown throws in a Broncos playoff game. Elway did it three times and Manning did it against Baltimore following the 2012 season.

The Broncos host the Patriots, who have lost all four of their playoff games in Denver, for the right to play either the Seattle Seahawks (15-3) or Los Angeles Rams (14-5) in the Super Bowl on Feb. 8.

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Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton leaves the field after an NFL divisional round playoff football game against the Buffalo Bills, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) fumbles the ball while being tackled by Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) during the second half of an NFL divisional round playoff football game, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, right, runs as Buffalo Bills safety Cole Bishop pursues in overtime of an NFL divisional football game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham warms up before an NFL divisional round playoff football game against the Buffalo Bills, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

ROME, Ga. (AP) — Democrat Shawn Harris and Republican Clay Fuller advanced to a runoff for Marjorie Taylor Greene’s former U.S. House seat in Georgia after no candidate won a majority in Tuesday’s special election.

President Donald Trump in February endorsed Fuller, a district attorney who prosecutes crimes in four counties, to succeed Greene in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. Greene, once among Trump's most ardent supporters, resigned in January after a falling out with the president.

Trump's endorsement didn't boost Fuller to a majority of the vote in a 14-candidate field that included nine Republicans, three Democrats, a Libertarian and an independent. But Fuller said he was confident he could bring Republicans together to beat Harris on April 7.

“I think the Republican Party is going to unite around us because they know that the Democrat is too dangerous,” he said Tuesday night. “We can't have a Democrat representing Georgia 14. That would be a tragedy for our community, a tragedy for Georgia 14 and a tragedy for the MAGA movement.”

Trump congratulated Fuller for “getting such a high percentage of the vote” with so many other Republicans in the race.

“Clay will be a GREAT Congressman — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” the president wrote on social media.

Harris, a cattle farmer and retired brigadier general, will face an uphill battle to win a majority in the heavily Republican district. Nevertheless, he was leading in the hours after the polls closed and Democrats are likely to boast of his success as they have focused on strong performances in special elections.

Harris has contrasted himself with Greene’s bomb-throwing style, saying practical-minded Republicans should vote for him because he will work for constituents “not for somebody else who's already in D.C.”

“The way I’m going to go to Congress is that it’s going to be a coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans,” Harris said Tuesday night.

The winner will serve out the remaining months of Greene’s term. A Republican win in the northwest Georgia district would bolster the party’s slim majority in the House, where Republicans currently control 218 seats to Democrats’ 214.

Fuller was a White House fellow in the first Trump administration and is a lieutenant colonel in the Georgia Air National Guard. He finished fourth in the 2020 Republican primary that Greene won. He credited Trump's nod for propelling him to the runoff.

“They want to know who President Trump was endorsing in this race,” Fuller said. “And that's why they came out in droves to support him, because they want an America First fighter on Capitol Hill fighting for his policies that are going to make a difference for our community.”

Harris said he’s not worried about further Trump intervention.

“If Donald Trump wants to come and do what he wants to do, that’s his business," he said.

This round of voting is only the first step in an elections marathon in the Georgia district. Republicans and Democrats seeking a full two-year term are set for a May 19 party primary, and possibly a June 16 party runoff, before advancing to the general election in November.

Last week, 10 Republicans and Harris qualified to run in November for a full two-year term. That includes Fuller, as well as Colton Moore, a former state senator and favorite of far-right activists who was poised to finish third on Tuesday, short of the runoff.

For Fuller voters like Presley Stover, support for Trump hasn't wavered.

“I think as of right now, he’s doing a great job," said Stover, who lives in Dallas, Georgia. “He’s definitely helping us a lot more than Biden did. I mean, as of now, they’re not the best, but you’re not gonna change anything overnight.”

Those who backed Democrats said they were repelled by Trump and eager to reduce his power.

“There just needs to be checks and balances and I don't think we have many of those right now," said Matthew Wisniewski, a Dallas resident who voted for Harris.

Greene was one of the most well-known members of Congress until she left in January. She remained loyal to Trump after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, promoting Trump’s falsehoods about a stolen election. When Trump ran again in 2024, she toured the country with him and spoke at his rallies while wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat.

But Greene began clashing with Trump last year after he and other Republicans pushed back against her running for U.S. Senate or governor. Greene criticized Trump’s foreign policy and his reluctance to release documents involving the Jeffrey Epstein case. The president eventually had enough, saying he would support a primary challenge against her. Greene announced a week later that she would resign.

Associated Press journalist Emilie Megnien contributed to this report.

Democrat Shawn Harris, center, speaks during an Atlanta Press Club forum for candidates in Georgia's 14th Congressional District, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at Georgia Public Broadcasting, in Atlanta. (J. Glenn Photography/Press Club via AP)

FILE - Republican Colton Moore, who resigned from the state Senate to run for Congress, poses for a photo outside the Georgia Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)