ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- With the Denver Broncos poised to face a quarterback decision in the offseason, Jarrett Stidham gets the first chance to leave a strong impression.
Stidham, who signed a two-year, $10 million deal in March, started his third career game and first with the Broncos on Sunday in a win against the Los Angeles Chargers after coach Sean Payton had made the surprising decision to bench Russell Wilson. Stidham will also start the Broncos' season finale Sunday against the Raiders in Las Vegas (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox).
With limited draft capital, massive salary cap issues if they release Wilson and a roster that began the season as the ninth-oldest in the league, Stidham could offer an in-house solution at quarterback.
"That's the case with every player, right?'' Payton said this week when asked if Stidham could influence how the Broncos plan in the offseason. "We are constantly evaluating how they play, and then, it would definitely carry over to how we feel about next year, relative to their role. The answer would be yes. I think these are important snaps and games for him.''
Stidham had 95 of his 224 passing yards and his lone touchdown on two first-half throws to Lil'Jordan Humphrey (a 54-yard catch-and-run TD) and Jerry Jeudy (a 41-yarder).
He had 129 yards on mostly low-impact, low-risk completions on a day when wide receivers Courtland Sutton (concussion) and Marvin Mims Jr. (hamstring) were not active. He finished 20-of-32 passing. Payton saw the turnover-free performance as an important step.
He believes Stidham, who has been in the NFL for five seasons -- including 2021, when he missed the year after back surgery -- has shown his experience.
"You didn't feel like you were working with somebody who was a younger player,'' Payton said.
"He's cool, he's calm in his approach,'' Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II said. "... He was ready to step in. He's ready to make some plays out there and he did show that today. As a whole, he played a great game and that's what we expect out of him.''
Payton said he made the move away from Wilson because he said he wanted to see a "spark'' in the offense. It also came with the caveat that he couldn't try to replace the offensive line or the team's receivers. Despite Wilson having been among the league's top six quarterbacks in touchdown passes through Week 17, the Broncos have struggled with timeouts, bobbled some late-game situations and are 28th in plays of 20 or more yards, 26th in total offense (299.1 yards per game), 17th in scoring (21.4 points per game), 23rd in the red zone and 31st in goal-to-go situations. Through 16 games, they have scored 44 points combined in the third quarter.
During Sunday's fourth quarter, the Broncos had a first-and-goal from the Chargers' 1-yard line and had back-to-back false start penalties in a home game. Four plays later they had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Wil Lutz.
"The comments last week [about a spark] were really a sum total of 15 games,'' Payton said. "There were some things I was really encouraged about [Sunday]. Certainly, if we're going to measure it week-by-week, you'd say, 'Man, we scored under 20 points. That wasn't enough.'
"We missed out on opportunities in the red zone, but we were safe with the football. ... That was a long stretch of 15 weeks where we'd seen a very similar pattern. I think that'll change. I made the decision with the hope that it will help bring change.''
And that may be where Stidham can be a slice of optimism for the Broncos to close out this season. With Stidham now the 12th quarterback to start a game for Denver since the start of the 2016 season, the team's quandary behind center still needs a solution. He could be the most efficient choice and give the Broncos the most options on the rest of the depth chart because he's already under contract.
"Once I got back to my locker [Sunday], I texted my wife what a cool feeling it is to get my first NFL win,'' Stidham said. "... My job is to come in here and move the chains and score points and ultimately, win. ... I'm just kind of focused on celebrating the win ... that's all I can control for right this second.''