Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton said last week that the club was benching Russell Wilson and promoting Jarrett Stidham to provide "a spark" offensively, and on Sunday, Stidham was given the ball to do just that.
The Broncos were 6-5 in November when Wilson took over, but they dropped 1-3 in December and never recovered enough to be considered for the playoffs.
In spite of Denver's mathematical playoff hopes, Payton opted to start a different quarterback in Sunday's matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Denver went on to defeat the Chargers 16-9 thanks in large part to Stidham, who returned the favor by completing 20 of 32 passes for 224 yards and a score. Stidham completed a 54-yard home visit by connecting with Lil'Jordan Humphrey.
The Broncos are no longer in the postseason hunt, regardless of the victory.
Payton has a few things he wants taken care of before Denver's game in Las Vegas. The offense's inefficiency in the red zone, where they went cold against the Los Angeles Rams, is something he wants to see improved.
Despite the Chargers' lackluster defensive performance, the Broncos will be facing the Raiders, who have the NFL's tenth-best passing defense and eighth-best scoring defense.
With Payton telling the media that the Broncos will not be resting anyone, Denver is aiming to end its seven-game losing run to the Raiders. Denver has an opportunity to finish with a winning record since 2016, and Payton will not let that happen in his debut season at Mile High. The Broncos are 8-8.