Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix suffers season-ending ankle injury

Denver Broncos Quarterback Bo Nix suffered a shocking season-ending ankle injury moments before his team defeated the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on Saturday, January 17.

‘Not good news… Bo fractured a bone in his right ankle,’ Broncos head coach Sean Payton told reporters after the match. “He is scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday this week to put him out for the rest of the season.”

Payton, 62, later clarified that Nix, 25, would have surgery in Birmingham, Alabama. He also confirmed that the replacement QB Jarrett Stidham will step in for next week’s AFC championship game. (This will be Stidham’s first start this season.)

He was reported that the injury occurred with just over 6 minutes left in overtime when Nix, 25, was tackled for a loss of two yards. Nix continued to play in overtime after the injury and led the Broncos to a 33-30 victory over the Bills.

By Fox NewsPayton opened up to the media during the postgame press conference about Nix’s state of mind after the devastating career setback.

“I’ll tell you what, the one thing about him. He’s such a strong, faith-based guy,” Payton said. “He was sitting in the hallway with his family, and I went up to him, and we’re all talking to him. He knows that God has a plan for him. He said he had one in high school, and then he said he had one at Auburn. I said, ‘I didn’t realize that.’ [jokingly] said, “If I had known that, I would not have enlisted you. »

The coach continued: “He’s a tough guy. I said, ‘Look. I think you’re the second sophomore quarterback to take your team to a championship game, and the first one is [Chiefs quarterback Patrick] Mahomes. This team, all year long, has lost key players, and we will pick ourselves up for the next challenge and go from there.

Payton promised that “Stiddy is ready to go” as the Bills now consider the prospect of trying to win the AFC championship without Nix in the group.

While Nix visibly limped in the final seconds of overtime, he made no mention of an injury when speaking to CBS on the sidelines after his team’s victory.

“Well, we played against a very good football team; they played very well tonight,” Nix said. “They gave us their best in a short week after a tough game last week. Hats off. We just found a way to win again, and our defense made stops, and I’m just proud of our guys. I’m proud of this organization, the way we compete, we fight, we never give up.”

Bo’s injury comes at a particularly crucial time in his life, as his wife, Izzy Nixis pregnant with the couple’s first child. (The couple announced in October 2025 that they would welcome their first child in spring 2026.)

Meanwhile, the Buffalo Bills suffered a season-ending loss to the Broncos despite Bo’s injury. Bills Quarterback Josh Allen broke down during his team’s post-match press conference as he analyzed the loss.

“It’s extremely difficult,” says Allen, 29, admitted while shaking his head in disappointment. “I feel like I let my teammates down tonight.”

Allen had a rough night at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado, as he committed four turnovers. The QB completed 25 of 39 passes, or 64.1 percent overall, for 283 yards and rushed for 66 yards as the Bills fell to defeat. (The bills come back James Cook also fumbled in the second quarter.)

“We can’t win with five turnovers,” the QB said during the postgame media scrum. “I fumbled twice, I threw two [interceptions]. When you shoot yourself in the foot like that, you don’t deserve to win football games.

Allen continued, “We’ve been tested all year, down two scores at halftime. Come out, layoffs, fumble, hold them to three.” [points]. We find ourselves ahead of this game…if one or two plays go in our favor, that’s a different story.

The 2026 AFC Championship Game will take place on Sunday, January 25, with CBS airing live coverage of the kickoff at 3 p.m. ET.