Ben DiNucci still pities Stiddy. The former Broncos quarterback swears Sean Payton had a good game plan for the Patriots. The coach just didn’t really have one for Mother Nature.
“I think if the weather was just the same as the first half in the second half, I think we would’ve won that game,” DiNucci, the Broncos’ No. 3 quarterback for that ill-fated, 10-7 loss to New England in the AFC Championship, told me. “That weather took out everything we could possibly do. I know there were some critical turnovers. But we controlled that game a good majority of the first half.”
The Pats managed one meaningful drive, right after halftime, for what turned out to be the game-winning field goal. By then, a snow squall had rolled in like a mama badger, turning Empower Field into the world’s largest skating rink. New England largely played keep away over the final quarter-and-a-half of the contest, and that was that.
“I would like to have seen how that Super Bowl would have been had the Broncos been there and had (a healthy roster),” DiNucci continued. “Because I think that defense would have been impactful, just like the (Seattle) defense was the other night.”
Join the club, brother. Join the club.
Also, kick the bleeping field goal, Coach. Jarrett Stidham? Snow? Gotta chase those points, baby. Chase every last, blessed, beautiful one.
Ah, hindsight.
“If I was inside Sean Payton’s head, I would still think I could call the best offense in America, too,” DiNucci, who spent the 2023 season and a week of January 2026 on the Broncos’ practice squad, stressed.
“I think that at some point, (a) young innovative mind could refresh the playbook, could refresh the offense, just because the game is trending in different ways.
“That’s not to say Sean can’t still call plays. But I do think Davis (Webb) has new perspectives on what’s going on with the way offenses are trending in the NFL.”
At 29, DiNucci has been in a lot of those QB meeting rooms over the last decade — Pitt, James Madison, the XFL, the Cowboys, Broncos, Bills, Saints, Falcons, Broncos (again). There were good voices. Bad voices. Mad voices. Coaches you’d sooner forget. And ones you never will.
DiNucci puts new Broncos offensive coordinator Davis Webb in the second camp. He thinks the man’s a walking Wikipedia.
“I just know from my time being there, he would talk to us all the time about the ideas in his head,” DiNucci recalled. “Stuff he liked, stuff he didn’t like, that people were doing. He always had a list of coaches and playbooks … that if he ever got a (head) coaching or offensive coordinator spot, he’d be willing to hit ground pretty quickly.
“I never thought one time, ‘Let me keep (plays) from middle school’ … he’s got binders and binders and binders of everything he’s ever been a part of, because he knew that one day, this would be the moment. That’s part of the reason he’s climbed the ranks so quick. That’s one of the reasons he’s going to have success. I think he’s built to do everything you need to be in this league.
It’s not just about owning the room. At 31, Webb can read it with the best of them. But can Payton?
“I know for a fact that Davis would like to call plays,” DiNucci said. “I know Sean has always called plays in his career.
“For me, and this is my opinion, I do think Davis Webb wouldn’t have accepted the OC job back with Denver if Sean didn’t say, ‘Hey, you’re going to have a bigger role, a bigger impact, on what’s going on.’
“I don’t think Sean said to him, ‘Hey, I’m going to let you call plays,’ right off the bat. But I’m sure he said, ‘Hey, you’re going to have a bigger role here.’”
If nothing else, the Broncos knew better than to let a good thing — Webb — get away, despite overtures from the Raiders, Ravens and Bills.
And while DiNucci doesn’t know Bo Nix well, he knows for darn sure how Payton and Webb work. And how much the latter helps to translate — and simplify — the teachings of the former.
“I see the way Bo kind of talks and kind of holds himself, as a fan,” DiNucci said. “I think I can see Davis in him. The confidence. The personality. The play style.
“His fourth year, (Webb) obviously had his footprint on his QB room, Stiddy has been the one consistent (piece) his whole time there, and what Stidham has done in the preseason speaks for itself. What I did in 2023 preseason (105.2 QB rating), it all directly relates to Davis and what he’s preaching. The QB coach is the one who’s doing 90% of that stuff.”
DiNucci just signed a two-year deal — only it’s with CBS Sports as an up-and-coming analyst. Our man Ben is a hat guy who’s been wearing several different ones lately. He’s co-owner of the Texas streetwear company True BRVND. DiNucci’s kept a home here in the metro, where he’s been tutoring young QBs in greater Denver over the last couple of years.
“I haven’t officially retired yet if the (right) opportunity arises,” DiNucci said, “I’m just kind of tired of bouncing around to be a QB3 or QB4. At this point in my career, it doesn’t make much sense for me to keep bouncing around. I’ve enjoyed the transition away from football.”
Still, you never know. After eight months of radio silence from NFL front offices. DiNucci was at the CBS Sports studios out east last month when the phone buzzed.
Want to be a Bronco again?
In a blink, he was jetting to Dove Valley, a game away from his first Super Bowl.
Check that.
A snowstorm away.
“You always hear all the time, ‘Stay ready,’ because you could get that text,” DiNucci laughed. “And that was the time, right there.
“After a week of practice, you can just tell the vibe is so different in the building (compared to 2023). The vibe has been different the last couple months. But I think the fans have a lot to look forward to.”