It’s going to be showtime soon for Jarrett Stidham, and Denver Broncos fans are doing their part to help him get in the right mindset for Sunday’s huge matchup against the New England Patriots, including spreading a certain LeBron James–inspired meme online.
Stidham, who has taken over the QB1 role for the Broncos following the season-ending injury of Bo Nix, acknowledged the proliferation of an edited photo that has his face over the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player during the 2016 NBA Finals.
James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a historic come-from-behind NBA Finals win against the Golden State Warriors that year. In a way, Broncos fans believe Stidham can do the same—surprise everyone by leading Denver past the Patriots and, hopefully, to a Super Bowl victory.
On Wednesday, Stidham acknowledged the online trend heading into the AFC Championship game at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo.
“I’m not on social media at the moment, but I have had multiple people with the LeBron meme with the headphones, the sunglasses, it’s pretty funny,” Stidham told reporters, via Jeff Legwold of ESPN.
While they are the home team in the meeting with New England, Stidham and the Broncos are viewed as the underdog, largely because of Nix’s absence. Nix suffered a season-ending ankle injury late in Denver’s win in the AFC Wild Card Round against the Buffalo Bills.
Stidham appeared in just one game in the 2025 regular season and did not attempt a pass in that contest, but he’ll need to be solid under center if the Broncos are to book a ticket to Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
