The wives of the Denver Broncos quarterbacks are certainly going through it.

Both are undoubtedly counting down the seconds until Sunday’s AFC title game against the New England Patriots, but they have found themselves in very different situations.

Bo Nix suffered a fractured ankle on the team’s final drive of their 33-30 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night, prompting Jarrett Stidham to get the nod for a potential trip to the Super Bowl.

Nix’s wife, Izzy, “snuck” a photo of Nix meeting with teammates and coaches following the Broncos’ celebration for a personal memento.

“I snuck this picture because I wanted to remember this moment forever,” Izzy wrote on her Instagram Stories. “The joy, followed by the heartbreak, followed by watching each teammate and coach come to this little corner and sit by Bo’s side. 

“God could have placed us anywhere, and I’m so grateful He chose Denver. He is the perfect Author of Bo’s story and we cannot wait to see what He has in store for this team — We’ll be on the front row, cheering the loudest!!!

Stidham’s wife, Kennedy, shared a post after the victory that even she could not have anticipated.

COOPER MANNING REVEALS WHETHER ARCH WAS EVER ENTERING DRAFT, IF HE COULD PULL UNCLE ELI’S ANTICS NEXT YEAR

“Absolute whirlwind of emotions after the game last night. Ultimately so proud of these boys & what they have accomplished this so far. do it for 10!!!!” Kennedy wrote, via the New York Post, referencing Nix’s jersey number.

The veteran quarterback in Stidham, who at one point was considered to be the heir to the Patriots’ starting job once Tom Brady departed for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, received a huge boost of confidence from Broncos head coach Sean Payton.

“It started with our evaluation in New Orleans of him,” Payton said when asked why he believed Stidham was ready for the challenge. “He was a target for us in the draft. That doesn’t really mean anything other than we liked this player coming out. I know how he was coached in New England. I know exactly how he was coached in New England. Then I know how [Patriots offensive coordinator Josh] McDaniels felt about him when he brought him from New England to Vegas. Then I know reports on how he played, and then we saw him play real time.

“But ultimately, to answer your question, it’s our three years here. In our three years, watching him day-in and day-out that you guys don’t have access to. He will be ready to go and ready for the moment.”

Stidham has 1,422 passing yards and eight touchdown passes in 20 regular-season games.

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

When Emma Hayes took the reins of the women’s national soccer team in 2024, one of her first goals was to plumb the depths of the team’s talent pool. She knew what she had on the surface with veterans such as Rose Lavelle, Naomi Girma, Lindsey Heaps and Trinity Rodman. But what about the players under them? Who could step in in case of injury, absence or a lack of form?

Twenty months later, Hayes still hasn’t reached the bottom of that pool, making this month’s training camp in Carson an important one with World Cup qualifying looming in the fall.

“Some of the pool players are going to get an opportunity to shine,” she said. “Some are high-potential prospects. I think about Hal Hershfelt or Croix Bethune, players who have not had a lot of opportunity with us. I get a chance to really see where they’re at.

“My message is these players really have to take these opportunities because they will become few and far between.”

Hayes has given 27 players their senior national team debuts and has used 50 different starters in her 30 matches as coach. No other U.S. manager has named more than 36 starters over a similar span. And the number of debutantes could grow since three of the 26 women called up are still looking for their first international cap — something they could earn this month since the training camp will end with friendlies against Paraguay on Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park and Chile at UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 27.

Saturday’s matinee will include a pregame tribute to Christen Press, a two-time world champion who announced her retirement last fall.

But as valuable as the continuing auditions may be, the decision to call up a roster of young, NWSL players was made out of necessity, not design. Because the camp falls outside a FIFA window, Hayes was unable to summon European-based players such as Girma, Heaps, Alyssa Thompson, Crystal Dunn and Catarina Macario. Also unavailable were Jaedyn Shaw, Jaelin Howell, Tierna Davidson, Emily Sonnett and Lavelle, U.S. Soccer’s women’s player of the year, who will all be playing for Gotham FC in next week’s FIFA Women’s Championship Club in England.

“If the European-based players and the Gotham-based players were here, this would be a completely different roster,” Hayes said. “But that’s not the case.”

It’s also nothing new. The coach hasn’t had what she considers her first-choice roster since taking over the national team.

Injury kept Macario off the team that struck gold in the Paris Olympics, Hayes’ first tournament as coach, while forwards Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson have been on maternity leave since the Olympics. Injuries have limited Rodman, another forward, to one game over the past 18 months.

Despite that, the U.S. has lost just three of 20 games since climbing off the medal stand in Paris. So while she would prefer to start the new year with the veteran core of her 2027 World Cup roster in uniform, that didn’t happen. Instead, the 26 invited players — among them Rodman, Angel City defender Gisele Thompson and Santa Clarita’s Olivia Moultrie — average 24.1 years of age and 6.6 caps of senior-team experience.

“What I’ve learned since the Olympics is I can never, ever pick the best roster because I’m always going to be without players,” she said.

With the World Cup a year away, the tryout period will soon be ending. Hayes said she and her staff have mapped out how they’d like to see 2026 unfold, and that plan includes narrowing the potential player pool to about 35 women ahead of the SheBelieves Cup in March.

“Once we get to SheBelieves, if everyone is available to me, it will be the group that are strong candidates to be [part of World Cup qualifying],” she said. “It will be an extremely competitive roster.”

Yet it will be one that still won’t include Wilson or Swanson, who combined for seven of the team’s 12 goals in the Olympics. Wilson gave birth to a daughter in September, two months before Swanson did the same. Hayes, who had a son in the spring of 2018, doesn’t plan to rush back either player.

“I know how long it takes to recover after having a baby. That’s why I don’t like putting time frames on it,” she said. “Hormones play a big part of it. And you don’t actually realize that until you’ve had a baby.

“For some the recovery is quicker than others. Depends on your age, depends on type of birth, sleep. Loads of things.”

In the meantime, Hayes will keep dipping into the talent pool she has.

⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.

Miami Hurricanes star running back Mark Fletcher Jr. was spotted throwing a punch at an Indiana Hoosiers player following the close national championship game on Monday night.

The ESPN broadcast caught Fletcher walking off the field when he and Hoosiers defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker exchanged words. Fletcher stepped forward, took a swing at Tucker and had to be held back from escalating the situation further.

It’s unclear what was said between the two players, but it was a sour end for the Hurricanes star who had a phenomenal game.

Fletcher had two touchdowns in the 27-21 loss. He scored when Miami needed it badly to start the second half. The Hurricanes only needed two plays as Fletcher scampered for a 57-yard touchdown run to get his team on the board. He had a 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter that cut their deficit to just three points.

INDIANA’S FERNANDO MENDOZA REFLECTS ON INCREDIBLE DIVING TD: ‘I’D DIE FOR MY TEAM’

The Hurricanes couldn’t get past the Hoosiers in the latter moments of the game. Fernando Mendoza’s diving touchdown gave Indiana a 10-point lead with about 9:18 left in the game.

Miami quarterback Carson Beck had a chance to lead the team on a game-winning drive, but he threw a game-sealing interception.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fletcher ran for 112 yards on 17 carries along with his two scores, but the fight at the end of the game may mar the incredible performance he delivered.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.