Broncos HC Sean Payton Extols Bo Nix's Unique Resilience

The Denver Broncos head coach is pleased with Bo Nix.

Dec 15, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) scrambles with the ball in the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at Empower Field at Mile High. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

It would be an understatement to say that Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is pleased with rookie quarterback Bo Nix. Arriving via the No. 12 overall pick in this year's NFL draft, Nix won the Broncos' open quarterback competition, becoming the first rookie to start Week 1 for Denver since John Elway in 1983.

And after a bumpy start to the season, with the Broncos going 0-2, Nix hit his stride, and has won nine of the team's past 12 games. Along the way, Nix has won multiple Rookie of the Week awards, as well as October's Rookie of the Month.

Nix leads all NFL rookie quarterbacks in touchdown passes (20) and total scores from scrimmage (25). He's posted a 20-to-11 touchdown-to-interception ratio. That 1.8 TD-to-INT ratio is the fourth-best among rookie quarterbacks in league history (460 passing attempts minimum).

There are many other statistical marks and milestones Nix has produced on a historical level, and beyond the individual production, the rookie has led the Broncos to the club's first winning season since 2016, helping to snap a brutal, depressing losing streak.

Nix's last two starts have been up and down. He's thrown five total interceptions in the past two games, but in each contest, he showed a tremendous grit to bounce back and deliver in the clutch when the Broncos needed him most. That's a trait Payton especially appreciates.

“He’s played a lot of games. He knows how to win. He made some big throws for us there that we needed," Payton said of Nix.

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Nix got a lot of help from Broncos returner Marvin Mims Jr. last Sunday, who helped wrest the momentum away from the Indianapolis Colts, and set the offense up in a favorable red-zone position. And the Broncos defense did its part to overwhelm Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, put points on the board, and give Nix extra possessions to iron out the kinks.

“Marvin’s day was fantastic," Payton said. "One of the keys to victory—they were pretty good with their net punt. I think they were [ranked] sixth and we were eighth. One of the keys in the kicking game was win the net punt battle and we were able to do that. Those were game changing plays.”

But going back to Nix's resiliency, he himself has talked about "flushing" bad plays quickly to prevent the past from interfering with the present. All players must master this mindset to greater or lesser degrees, but quarterbacks and cornerbacks are the ones most often thrust onto an island of solitude.

Mental grit and mettle are required to overcome setbacks and thrive.

“I think it’s the same question you ask about a cornerback," Payton said about Nix, and a quarterback making adjustments in-game. "There’s going to be ups and downs. You’re going to have—you’re pulling the trigger still. Then when you look at the tape, you study the feet, the progression, what you saw, how you arrived—that kind of thing. Then occasionally, I think the first interception we threw against these guys was a low ball that got deflected. So you bounce back and at that point, you have to have a short memory.”

Nix continues to check all of the boxes for the Broncos. It's only surprising in so far as how quickly it has happened. Nix's fit with Payton was never questioned, but every young quarterback has a trial-and-error learning curve to navigate.

The stewardship and oversight of a venerated offensive coach like Payton, combined with Nix's unique intangibles and football IQ, have fast-tracked the rookie's development. That's why the Broncos have overshot nearly everyone's 2024 predictions, including Vegas, which set the team's win total projection at 5.5 wins.

If the Broncos defeat the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night, they'll not only clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2015, but they'll be on pace to more than double the oddsmaker's projection. That's what landing the right quarterback will do for a listing franchise.

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