Broncos QB Bo Nix Teases 'Super Bowl' Mindset Down the Stretch
![Dec 15, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) following the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Empower Field at Mile High. Dec 15, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) following the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Empower Field at Mile High.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_6000,h_3375,x_0,y_101/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/mile_high_huddle/01jfby1qshmdza3r19cy.jpg)
Don't mistake Bo Nix's mild-mannered Southern vibe for passivity. The Denver Broncos' rookie quarterback is a very confident guy. We learned that in Week 5 when Nix was captured on the sideline passionately jawing in the face of head coach Sean Payton.
With a road trip to face the Los Angeles Chargers next up, the Broncos are in a position where a victory would deliver the franchise its first playoff berth since 2015. Thursday night's AFC West tilt is important for all of those reasons and also because it's the next game, according to Nix.
"We've talked about all year, the next game is the most important game," Nix said on Tuesday, "and right now, this is what's important to us, and it's the most important. I think this next one would put us on track for where we want to go, so we have a lot of work to do. The job's not finished, so that's what we're going to do."
Indeed, as nice as it was to see the Broncos secure their first winning season since 2016 on Sunday, when it comes to guaranteeing a playoff berth, the team hasn't closed that deal quite yet. NFL.com has Denver's playoff probability at 91%, but the Chargers are an eight-win team and defeated the Broncos earlier this season.
Week 16 is the most important game because it's the next game, but the Broncos aren't looking at this final trio of frames through a "three games to win one" lens. At least, that's not how Nix is viewing it. He wants to win all three, (which would put the Broncos at 12-5 on the year), and ride the playoffs to the Super Bowl.
"Yeah, we've got three games to win three, and go into the playoffs and win a Super Bowl," Nix said.
As Julius Caesar famously said, "It's only hubris if I fail." That puts the onus on the rookie somewhat, but it's not like he guaranteed a Super Bowl berth.
Rather, Nix was simply conveying his and the team's mindset, ostensibly. Win all three remaining regular-season games, get into the playoffs, go the distance, and bring home a Lombardi Trophy.
How wild would that be in Year 1 of the Nix era? The city of Denver would have a come-apart and the ripple effects across the world-wide Broncos Country would be tectonic.
It's fun to dream, but the Broncos still have to officially punch their ticket to the playoff tournament. That opportunity comes on Thursday night vs. Jim Harbaugh's Chargers.
But there are cautionary tales of woe throughout Broncos canon of teams of yesteryear angling for the playoffs, only to lose all three of the final games. The 2008 Broncos had to win just one game of the final three to make the playoffs, and they lost them all, ending the Mike Shanahan era and the Jay Cutler experience.
Tim Tebow's 2011 Broncos lost the final three games, but totally lucked out because the AFC West was so terrible that year. Denver lost all three of its last games, and backed into the playoffs without a single strand of momentum.
That led to one of the most iconic playoff games in team history, with Tebow hitting the late Demaryius Thomas on a slant that he took to the house on the first play of overtime to vanquish the defending AFC-champion Pittsburgh Steelers. The 2024 Broncos don't want to take any chances.
That's why when Nix says the next game is the most important, he's more right than he knows.
Follow Denver Broncos On SI/Mile High Huddle on X and Facebook and subscribe on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!