Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham didn’t the stats in his third NFL start that he did in his first two. But this time, the former Auburn signal-caller got a victory as the Broncos beat the Los Angeles Chargers 16-9 on Sunday.

Stidham started the final two games of the 2022 season for the Las Vegas Raiders.

Las Vegas lost 37-34 to the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 1 and 31-13 to the Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 7 as Stidham completed 45-of-70 passes for 584 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions and ran for 84 yards on 14 carries against two of the NFL’s best teams.

On Sunday against the 5-10 Chargers, Stidham completed 20-of-32 passes for 224 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and ran six times for 6 yards. But that was enough to beat Los Angeles.

“It’s great,” Stidham said. “Once I got back to my locker, I texted my wife what a cool feeling it is to get my first NFL win. But with that, it’s not about me, it’s not about a first win, it’s about the team getting the eighth win of the year. I couldn’t be prouder of the guys in the locker room. Definitely thought we left some points out there, but defense played phenomenal as usual. Special teams played great. Offensively, we just have to find a way — especially in the red zone — to put the ball in a little bit more. Really good team win, for sure.”

Stidham connected with wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey on a 54-yard touchdown pass as Denver took a 10-3 lead with 6:37 left in the first half.

The Broncos benched nine-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson to give Stidham his third start in five NFL seasons.

“I thought he was good,” Denver coach Sean Payton said. “I thought he was collected, calm. I thought he played with really good poise. He felt experienced relative to a guy who hasn’t had as many minutes maybe as some others. You certainly didn’t feel that during the course of the game. I thought he was efficient in and out of the huddle.”

While the victory evened the Broncos’ record at 8-8, next week’s regular-season finale against the Raiders will only be to finish above .500 for Denver. The Kansas City Chiefs’ 25-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday eliminated the Broncos from playoff consideration.

“The objective was to come in here and get our eighth win,” Stidham said. “We did that. Obviously, it’s disappointing that we can’t continue after next week, but the goal this week is to go get another win. We’re promised seven days. That’s all we have, and we’re going to come in tomorrow and this week and get after it and be ready to go.”

Stidham was among the 20 former Auburn players who got on the field on the 17th Sunday of the NFL’s 104th season.

One other former Auburn player was involved in the Los Angeles-Denver game:

· Chargers long snapper Josh Harris handled the snaps for four field-goal attempts and four punts.

In the other Sunday games:

Baltimore Ravens 56, Miami Dolphins 19

· Dolphins defensive tackle Byron Cowart is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Ravens guard Tashawn Manning is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Dolphins wide receiver Anthony Schwartz is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Buffalo Bills 27, New England Patriots 21

· Jonathan Jones started at left cornerback for the Patriots. Jones made three tackles and broke up one pass.

Houston Texans 26, Tennessee Titans 3

· Marlon Davidson (Greenville) started at defensive tackle for the Titans. Davidson made two tackles.

· Roger McCreary (Williamson) started at cornerback for the Titans. McCreary made seven tackles and recorded two tackles for loss.

· Titans quarterback Malik Willis was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Texans offensive tackle Kilian Zierer is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Indianapolis Colts 23, Las Vegas Raiders 20

· Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson made his four attempts – field goals of 40 and 33 yards and two extra points.

· Raiders tight end John Samuel Shenker is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Braden Smith started at right offensive tackle for the Colts.

Jacksonville Jaguars 26, Carolina Panthers 0

· Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby ran for 32 yards on 10 carries as he recorded the most rushing attempts and the most rushing yards of his rookie season.

· Jaguars defensive tackle Angelo Blackson was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Derrick Brown started at defensive end for the Panthers. Brown tied for the team lead with eight tackles and broke up a pass. Brown was ejected with 5:03 to play after he and Jacksonville offensive tackle Cam Robinson pulled each other’s helmets off.

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· Panthers outside linebacker Eku Leota did not record any stats.

· Jaguars safety Daniel Thomas (Lee-Montgomery) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Jaguars wide receiver Seth Williams (Paul Bryant) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Panthers linebacker Chandler Wooten is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Los Angeles Rams 26, New York Giants 25

· Darius Slayton started at wide receiver for the Giants. Slayton had four receptions for 106 yards. Slayton’s fifth 100-yard game and first since the 2020 season including the longest reception of his career – an 80-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Tyrod Taylor as New York cut Los Angeles’ lead to 20-16 with 4:39 left in the third quarter. Slayton became the fourth Auburn alumnus with a touchdown reception of at least 80 yards. Los Angeles Rams split end Red Phillips caught a 93-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Billy Wade in a 20-7 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 16, 1958, Atlanta Falcons running back William Andrews caught an 86-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Steve Bartkowski in a 34-27 victory over the Denver Broncos on Dec. 5, 1982, and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ben Obomanu caught an 87-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Hasselback on Nov. 28, 2010, in a 42-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Arizona Cardinals 35, Philadelphia Eagles 31

· Eagles offensive lineman Jack Driscoll did not record any stats.

· Cardinals inside linebacker Owen Pappoe made two tackles.

New Orleans Saints 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13

· Buccaneers linebacker K.J. Britt (Oxford) made two tackles on defense and two tackles on special teams.

· Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis was designated as a game-day inactive. A concussion kept Davis out of the lineup.

· Jamel Dean started at cornerback for the Buccaneers. Dean made three tackles and broke up one pass.

Pittsburgh Steelers 30, Seattle Seahawks 23

· Steelers defensive tackle Montravius Adams did not record any stats.

· Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall made five tackles on defense, recorded one tackle for loss and had one tackle on special teams.

Kansas City Chiefs 25, Cincinnati Bengals 17

· Bengals wide receiver Shedrick Jackson (Hoover) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Chiefs offensive tackle Prince Tega Wanogho (Edgewood Academy) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Green Bay Packers 33, Minnesota Vikings 10

· Packers kicker Anders Carlson connected on field goals of 34 and 37 yards and made 3-of-4 extra-point attempts, missing to the left on the third kick.

· Packers safety Rudy Ford (New Hope) made one tackle on special teams.

· Packers defensive tackle Colby Wooden shared a sack, the first of the rookie’s career.

Week 17 started on Thursday night, when the Cleveland Browns defeated the New York Jets 37-20, and continued on Saturday night, when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Detroit Lions 20-19.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AmarkG1.