ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Jarrett Stidham always believed in his ability to play quarterback at the NFL level before Week 17 last season.
“I’ve always had a lot of confidence in myself,” Stidham said Wednesday. “That’s never wavered or anything.”
And yet, before he made his first NFL start, he couldn’t quite be sure about what type of success he could have at the game’s highest level.
“You don’t ever really know,” Stidham said. “You think you know what you can do, but [you can’t know] until you can go out there and actually do it.”
In last season’s matchup between the Raiders and 49ers, he did.
In his first career start and facing San Francisco’s top-ranked defense, Stidham threw for 365 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and a 108.1 quarterback rating as he completed 67.7 percent of his passes. Stidham’s performance stood out this offseason as the Broncos evaluated and then prioritized signing him in free agency, and it offered a glimpse at his potential.
“Obviously, I was on the other side of one of his performances last year when he almost took us by storm there,” former 49er Mike McGlinchey said Wednesday. “The 49ers had the No. 1 defense in the league last year, and he ran through us like crazy.”
As Stidham prepares to make his first start of the season, the Broncos are hopeful he can provide a spark and post a similar performance against the Chargers.
“Jarrett’s a great player,” McGlinchey said. “He’s obviously a true professional. He’s been that way all year. He’s one of the first people in the building, one of the last out, no matter what his role has been. And certainly can sling the pill. He’s done a great job with that. … I think he’s going to do great things, and I’m so excited for him and the opportunity he’s getting. He’s going to do great for us.”
Head Coach Sean Payton said Stidham’s poise, footwork, arm strength and decision-making all…
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