Broncos Veteran WR Dishes on Halftime Speech to Bo Nix vs. Jets

Bo Nix looked like a different player in the second half of Sunday's win over the New York Jets.

Sep 29, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton (14) celebrates a touchdown reception with quarterback Bo Nix (10) during the second half against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The first half of the Denver Broncos' Week 4 road tilt vs. the New York Jets featured some of the most brutal offensive football we've seen in some time. In a torrential downpour, both teams struggled to find purchase through the air, and the Jets hit halftime with a 6-0 lead.

Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix suffered greatly as a result of the weather conditions, going 7-of-15 passing for -7 yards. You read that right; he completed seven passes for -7 yards.

The worm began to turn for the Broncos in the locker room at halftime. No. 1 wide receiver Courtland Sutton went to Nix and gave him a little pep talk, and while the rookie signal-caller didn't exactly come out of the third-quarter gate throwing haymakers, he was noticably better.

“I just told him, ‘Go do what you do,'" Sutton recounted on Wednesday. "Bo knows what he’s doing, I don’t need to go—I’ve never played quarterback before and definitely haven’t played it at the NFL level, so there are not too many things I can go tell him about how to do his job."

What Sutton said to Nix obviously hit home. Nix was much more confident as a passer in the second half, and it helped that the rain let up.

Orchestrating an 87-yard drive that culminated in Nix's first-ever passing touchdown, which was caught by — you guessed it — Sutton, the rookie helped the Broncos get a 7-6 lead over Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.

"It’s just us letting him know, ‘Hey, we’re riding with you. Whenever we get the chance to go make a play, we’re going to do our very best to go make that play for you. Just keep doing what you’re doing back there and we’ll keep doing our job. We’ll work together, and we’ll find it eventually.’ That’s what we were able to do," Sutton said.

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The Broncos came out on top, winning 'ugly,' 10-9. Rodgers himself called the Jets' loss an "outlier," but the bottom line is, the weather conditions leveled the playing field, and it was the rookie, Nix, who found a way to win.

Nix would finish his day at the office at MetLife Stadium 12-of-25 for 60 yards and a touchdown, but the rookie likely learned a lot about himself, his teammates, and playing in bad weather and in front of a hostile crowd.

“I think some of the call sheet’s limited when you have weather like that," Nix said on Wednesday. "They can play a little bit more aggressively, and things change. I felt like we adapted well, especially in the second half. We adjusted, and we found ways to score points when we needed to.”

According to Nix, his first career passing touchdown seemed destined to be hauled in by Sutton. Sutton willed it.

“Yeah well, he was adamant about it," Nix said of Sutton. "I think that speaks to his character and his ability to be a great teammate. We all depend on ‘Court’ and rely on him. He's a great leader and captain for us, and that just kind of represents who he is. It was a great moment. [I'm] thankful he was the one that caught it. I'm glad we can get past that and move on to other things.”

Denver's two offensive captains led the way to victory on the road, allowing the team to return home at 2-2 on the season for a Week 5 divisional tilt vs. the Las Vegas Raiders. The Broncos have lost eight straight games to the Raiders — half of the Kansas City Chiefs' former winning streak before Sean Payton snapped it last season.

Nix and Sutton will be ready to turn it on in front of the Mile High faithful. Perhaps some of the football lessons Nix learned during his 2-0 East Coast road trip will come to fruition vs. the Raiders.

“They're a good football team," Nix said of the Raiders. "They fly around, they do a lot of different things. They're very multiple. Good in the back end, good in the front seven. They can get pressure on the quarterback, they tackle well, they're physical. I know it’s going to be an intense game. We have to do a good job of just executing our plan knowing that they're going to be around, knowing that they’re going to make their plays. We just have to make more than they do.”

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