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By Matt Audilet
Contributing Sports Writer
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The No. 1 seed Denver Broncos will host the No. 2 seed New England Patriots for an AFC Championship matchup on Sunday afternoon.
Unfortunately, the Broncos will be without their starting quarterback: Bo Nix.
Nix suffered a broken right ankle late in the Bronco's overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills during last week's divisional round. Soon after the game, head coach Sean Payton revealed the injury to the public and named Jarrett Stidham as the starting quarterback for the AFC Championship game.
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Nix has already undergone surgery and now faces 3-4 months of recovery, eliminating the far-fetched idea of a return for a possible Super Bowl appearance.
While Nix won't see the field until the 2026 NFL season, the Broncos did receive some encouraging news in the wake of his procedure.
Nix's ankle injury resulted in limited ligament damage and no joint surface damage, according to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport. The 25-year-old quarterback is expected to be fine before the Broncos begin training camp this upcoming offseason.
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Nix has been instructed by doctors to not put any weight on his right ankle for the next four weeks. He'll watch Sunday's AFC Championship game from a Mile High Stadium box with the rest of his injured Broncos teammates.
Doctors say the injury is "nothing to be concerned about long term," according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.
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While Nix helped the Broncos to this point in their postseason campaign, Payton is confident in Stidham's ability to lead Denver against the Patriots in Sunday's conference championship matchup.
"I'm not worried about Stiddy in this game," Payton said on Friday. "I'm worried about everyone else and how we play. That really is the truth."
Sunday's game will kickoff at 3 p.m. ET.
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