Few teams ever experienced an emotional swing quite like what the Broncos went through in the early-evening hours of Jan. 17.
In the span of an hour, they went from celebrating one of the most thrilling wins in club history, one that placed them a single game away from reaching their first Super Bowl in a decade, to learning they’d have to try and take that final step before the ultimate game without the quarterback who’d guided them there, the passer who’d steered them through a series of fourth-quarter rallies throughout the season.
When Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II joined Julian Edelman on his “Games With Names” podcast to reflect on that memorable divisional-round win and the roller-coaster of emotions that followed, he ruminated on the dizzying experience.
“I mean, instant thought was, man, celebrate,” Surtain said. “Coming off this game, like, everybody’s happy. Emotions are at an all-time high. Coming off an overtime win against a great Buffalo team and winning that, going on to the AFC Championship, emotions are flaring, emotions are high.
“Then we get hit with the bad news. Obviously, Bo broke his ankle, fractured his ankle, and next thing you know, it just felt deflating, like a dagger just went through your heart, man. And obviously during that moment, it was like, ‘Man, we feel for him.'”
With that, the Broncos’ party was over.
“It was like we can’t really even celebrate because it’s — I mean, our guy, our starting QB went out for the year and it was just, deflating in a way, man,” Surtain said.
“But obviously, we was still happy at the end of the day to get the win, but it was like, ‘Dang, man. How can we how can we bounce back from this,’ you know what I mean?”
BRONCOS, PS2 EMPHATHIZED WITH STIDHAM
Indeed, that was the reality. Nix was out, Jarrett Stidham was in.
For all the bravado from coach Sean Payton, all the bold proclamations, all the confidence, all the support from the community, from the state, from Broncos Country far and wide, what was asked of Stidham was to do something that had never been done before: to step in without a single pass attempted to that point in the season and guide a team to a win in a conference-championship game.
The task proved to be too great. Fantasy and hope crashed on the cold rocks of reality, as the Broncos sputtered to just seven points. An impregnable defense that stopped the Patriots cold wasn’t enough; a short-field touchdown conceded after the understudy’s mistake, along with a haunting fourth-down decision from Payton, decided matters.
Another icy dagger shot through the Broncos’ chest.
“It’s tough for anybody to be in that role. Not having to play the whole year because of Bo, then having to play not only play but coming into the AFC Championship,” Surtain said.
“… Way faster game. Faster pace, faster tempo and I mean, it was tough all around, man.”
And thus, the Broncos were left only with a single playoff win, and a subsequent offseason laser-focused on taking one more step.