The New England Patriots pulled out a gritty 28-16 win in less than ideal weather conditions over the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional round on Sunday. In a game that featured eight turnovers, the Patriots made a statement on both sides of the ball as they now get ready to head to Denver to take on the Broncos in the AFC Championship.
Instead of Bo Nix however, it’ll be a face that Patriots fans are more familiar with lining up under center for the Broncos this weekend.
That quarterback is none other than backup extraordinaire Jarrett Stidham, who spent two seasons with the Patriots in 2019 and 2020. He was the backup for Tom Brady in 2019 and then Cam Newton in 2020.
Mike Vrabel spoke about Stidham to the media at his press conference on Monday morning.
“Just going back to when Josh [McDaniels] had him, I think he sees things really well and I think he’s athletic enough to extend like we talk about a lot of quarterbacks,” Vrabel said. “He’s really decisive in the games that we went back and watched, this is even going back to when I was in Tennessee as well.”
Patriots Pivoting Preparation as Stidham Takes Over
Vrabel also discussed the Patriots preparation plans for Jarrett Stidham during his weekly appearance on “The Greg Hill Show.”
“You know, he hasn’t thrown a pass since 2023, so we’ll have to kind of figure out [how to game plan],” Vrabel said. “I like Jarrett, we did a lot of work on him in the offseason here in free agency. Josh [McDaniels] has coached him, he’s probably ready to go. Obviously he’s preparing as a starter each and every week. Really early in the preparation, not sure how much things will change based on the quarterback that’s in there and what they’re asking him to do.”
For all the turnover the Pats have gone through in the last five years, one member of the team has intimate knowledge of Stidham’s game: offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
With McDaniels returning for his third stint with the team this season, he clearly had some input on trying to persuade the team to sign Stidham as Drake Maye’s backup ahead of the season. McDaniels is high on Stidham’s talent, despite his limited NFL experience.
But like Vrabel said, the Pats preparation may not change as much as one might anticipate. Though Stidham is a relatively unknown entity, Vrabel preaches consistency every week, and it seems like that it once again his approach as the team heads into the AFC Championship.
Stidham’s Time In New England
Saying Jarrett Stidham played for the New England Patriots makes it seem like he was a starter at one point, when he actually never started a game in his two years with the team.
He only entered games already underway, mostly in mop-up situations. He threw just 48 passes as a Patriot, completing exactly half of them. On those 24 completions, he threw for 270 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions.
The Pats will take the field in Denver on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 3 p.m.
Patriots’ Mike Vrabel Gets Honest About Jarrett Stidham Ahead of AFC Championship