Jarrett Stidham earned his first career NFL win, but many of the Broncos' offensive troubles remain

Updated Jan. 2, 2024 2:22 p.m. ET

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DENVER (AP) — Jarrett Stidham and Russell Wilson traded places Sunday, but many of the problems that Sean Payton complained about when he made the switch last week remain ingrained in the Denver Broncos' sputtering offensive operation.

Burned timeouts. False starts. Red zone hiccups. Goal-to-go stalls. Wild throws.

Payton praised Stidham's poise and overall play in leading the Broncos (8-8) to their first sweep of the Los Angeles Chargers (5-11) since 2019 with a grinding 16-9 win Sunday in Denver.

“I thought it went pretty good,” Payton said after Stidham won his first NFL game by going 20 of 32 for 224 yards and a touchdown — thanks to Lil'Jordan Humphrey eluding five tacklers and gaining 40 yards after the catch on his spinning, sidestepping and ultimately diving 54-yard score — with no interceptions and two sacks.

Payton also had kind words for the man he benched, calling Wilson a true pro for the way he handled losing his starting job despite ranking sixth in the league with 26 TD passes.

“Russ has been fantastic this week,” Payton said. “Look, I think this idea that he and I, or we, don’t have a good relationship, or he’s not a fit, all of that stuff comes from people farther away from our program. You guys are close to it. I think the further away people are from the program, the more they just jump to a narrative. It is what it is, but he’s approached this week like we expected — like a pro.”

Payton confirmed Monday that Stidham will start the season finale Sunday in Las Vegas and that Wilson will dress as the backup, prepared to play if necessary. The Broncos are out to snap a seven-game skid against the Raiders (7-9) and halt a six-year run of losing records.

Payton wants to see more out of Stidham in the finale as he prepares to navigate quarterback options for 2024 when parting ways with Wilson would trigger massive, record-setting dead money charges over the next two years that would impact the team's roster building.

“No. 1, our job is to score,” Payton said. "We had opportunities in the tight red (zone) yesterday and certainly down at the 1-yard line. That’s the first thing. I thought Jarrett did a good job — after seeing the tape— with his decisions, the ball security, and all those things you want to see from that position. The big play to LJ (WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey) was a heck of a play by LJ and the protection was good. There were a lot of positives to build off.”

WHAT’S WORKING

Humphrey stepped up with Courtland Sutton (concussion) and Marvin Mims Jr. (hamstring) inactive. His 54-yard catch-and-run was the Broncos' second-longest scoring play of the season.

WHAT NEEDS WORK

Humphrey's TD aside, the offense lacks threats over the middle with the absences of WR Tim Patrick and TE Greg Dulcich. Patrick tore an Achilles tendon in training camp after missing all of 2022 with a torn ACL and Dulcich has only played in parts of two games because of recurring hamstring injuries that have sidelined him for 21 games in his two NFL seasons.

STOCK UP

OLB Jonathon Cooper had a sack, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit Sunday. For the season, he has a team-high 8 1/2 sacks.

STOCK DOWN

GM George Paton and team owner Greg Penner, who have been silent on Wilson's comments Friday that the Broncos threatened to bench him midseason if he didn't adjust the injury guarantee in the $245 million contract all parties signed 14 months earlier and which kicks in next season.

INJURIES

Payton said he felt good about the availability of RT Mike McGlinchey (ribs) for the finale but that S Delarrin Turner-Yell was heading to IR with a torn ACL.

KEY NUMBER

12 — Games with double-digit tackles for ILB Alex Singleton, who had 11 stops Sunday, including seven solo. That ties him with Zach Thomas (2005) and Foyesade Oluokun (2021) for the most games in a season with double-digit tackles this century. Singleton's 162 tackles are eight shy of LB Michael Brooks' 1992 total, which is the most by a Denver defender in the past 32 years.

NEXT STEPS

The Broncos visit Las Vegas on Sunday where they'll try to snap a seven-game losing streak to the Raiders and finish 4-2 in the division for the first time since 2015, the previous time they had a winning record against the AFC West.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

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