NFL.com Buries Broncos' Bo Nix in Week 14 QB Power Rankings

If this is truly reflective of the national perspective's view of Bo NIx within the NFL QB power rankings, it doesn't bode well for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Dec 2, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) celebrates following a touchdown in the third quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Empower Field at Mile High. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Every rookie has to earn his spurs prior to being accepted as an established player. Such is the commonly accepted "earn it" ethos of the NFL.

While that's perfectly fine, many noted quarterback rankings are bent on not giving Denver Broncos rookie signal-caller Bo Nix his flowers too early. With eight wins and a nice two-game cushion in the AFC Wildcard race, Nix is placed 19th on NFL.com's Week 14 QB Index, as compiled by Nick Shook.

"Week 13 didn't quite match the recent performances produced by Nix. After all, he had to come back to earth after throwing eight touchdowns and zero interceptions in his previous three games, but he was still productive against the Browns. He completed just over half of his passes for nearly 300 yards while also throwing two interceptions, including a bad decision on a deep shot. Early in the contest, Nix was rolling out and finding wide open receivers for chunk plays, but he took more risks than usual and suffered for it. He set everyone up for a thrill when he encountered some second-quarter struggles, then took a shotgun snap on third-and-11 deep in Broncos territory, stepped up from his short drop and fired a perfect strike over the middle to Marvin Mims Jr., who snatched a ball just out of Browns CB Denzel Ward's reach for a 93-yard touchdown. That was the highlight of Nix's night, as he benefited greatly from an improved running game in the second half, fired a few timely passes to keep the Broncos moving and enjoyed the fruits of the defense's labor in the fourth quarter, emerging victorious from a wild game that might serve as a bit of a reset for the rising rookie," Shook wrote.

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Seeing Nix listed behind the likes of a fairly middling veteran like Geno Smith (15) and a struggling Brock Purdy (18) is bordering on the comical. After taking a deep breath, perhaps it can only be explained by taking Smith and Purdy's previous body of work into consideration, and that can also be said of former Broncos flop Russell Wilson, who appears ranked No. 7 overall.

Shook placed Nix's fellow rookie signal-caller Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders in the No. 9 spot on his QB Index. Furthermore, the NFL.com reporter then rubbed salt into the wounds of Broncos Country by ranking Chicago Bears No. 1 overall quarterback Caleb Williams in the 16th position — three spots ahead of Nix.

Williams coming ahead of Nix is fairly baffling at this stage, as the hyped former USC star has clearly lacked the polish of the Broncos' rookie QB thus far, and the Bears' struggles have seen them fire their head coach in-season. Those of us who have witnessed how Nix has so swiftly developed and blossomed this season might view NFL.com's QB Index with profound skepticism.

Indeed, Shook claiming that Nix took too many risks against the Cleveland Browns dismisses what he actually delivered in a game that turned into a shootout against Jameis Winston, which the rookie won.

Perhaps it's the sheer consistency of Nix that strangely counts against him, whereas, on the flip side, Daniels gets commended by Shook for bouncing back after several subpar performances. Notoriously fickle rankings such as these provide a fairly sobering barometer as to where the Offensive Rookie of the Year award might ultimately end up going when the season concludes.

Egregious misjudgments they might be, but the season ain't over yet.

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