Oregon Football's Justin Herbert vs. Bo Nix: AFC-West Rivals To Play Twice A Year

Former Oregon quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Bo Nix are NFL Division rivals and will face each other twice a year.

The NFL, specifically the AFC West, is getting huge dose of Oregon football. 

Former Oregon Duck quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Bo Nix just became division rivals, as Nix was selected by the Denver Broncos No. 12-overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Nix will face Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Herbert twice a year, in both L.A. and in Denver. 

Expect to see quite a bit of Oregon Duck green and yellow in the stands of those games.

The Broncos-Chargers rivalry dates back to 1960. All time, the Broncos lead the series 73–55–1. Yet somehow, Denver and L.A. have met only once in the playoffs, in the 2013 AFC Divisional round, the Broncos beat the Chargers 24-17. 

The Broncos are currently on a three-game winning streak vs. the Chargers. 

Of course, both Herbert and Nix face the difficult task of competing in the same division as the Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The reigning-Super Bowl champion Chiefs have won the divisional crown for eight-straight seasons.

Can one of the former Duck quarterbacks take down one of the greatest NFL players ever in Mahomes? Head-to-head, Mahomes has a 5-1 record against Herbert. Those heated divisional games seemingly always come down to the wire and the Chargers have struggled to win in close games. 

The Ducks set a program record in the NFL Draft this season, with eight Ducks drafted. The previous record was six players drafted, which happened four times, including last season.

Former Oregon wide receiver Troy Franklin also joins Nix as a Denver Bronco. Nix and Franklin will try to emulate the immense success and great connection they had at Oregon, which boasted the No. 2 scoring and passing offense in 2023. 

Former Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson also joins the AFC West Division, as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders. Las Vegas may move “JPJ” to guard but he has the versatile skill set to make an instant impact for Las Vegas. 

Oregon sending eight players to the league is in part a testament to what Coach Dan Lanning is building in Eugene. 

"I think it's exciting. Now it's about getting more of those guys in the first and second," Lanning said.

The college football record for most NFL Draft selections in a single year is held by Georgia (15 players in 2022.) Lanning was with Georgia from 2017-2021 and many of those Bulldogs players were his guys.