Broncos HC Sean Payton Explains Bo Nix Trick-Play TD Call

Nix made NFL history with his impressive scoring grab.

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) leaps to catch a second quarter touchdown defended by Baltimore Ravens safety Marcus Williams (32) at M&T Bank Stadium. / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Broncos head coach/offensive play-caller Sean Payton went deep into his bag of tricks amid Sunday's loss to Baltimore and pulled out a treat: the unofficial "Denver Special."

Wherein wide receiver Courtland Sutton would throw a touchdown to quarterback Bo Nix, who made a leaping, contested catch over a Ravens defender — the only time they crossed paint in a humbling 41-10 blowout.

After the game, Payton broke down the call to an inquiring media.

“It’s hard to explain," he said. "They play a zero-funnel coverage. It can become complicated. We have a series of zero-funnel beaters, but one of them, the guy that’s not getting covered, technically in man, is the QB. But, if you don’t get zero-funnel, then you check to a different play. We got the right look. I wouldn’t have called it if I knew it would have been that close. They did a good job. Courtland made a good throw. It was a tight-read scoring play.”

The Denver Special:

pic.twitter.com/zC88QHq5ks

— Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) November 3, 2024

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Although it came in a losing effort, Nix set another bit of NFL history thanks to Payton's design, becoming only the third QB ever to record a passing TD, rushing TD, and receiving TD during his rookie season.

“We called it at the right time," Nix said of the trick play. "We knew that they were going to be in zero funnel, and the guy actually made a good play of retreating and trailing, and Courtland looked pretty good again on that play.”

Nix finished the afternoon 19-of-33 for 223 yards and one interception, adding 36 yards via the ground and two via the air. The Broncos fell to 5-4 on the year but remain in the AFC playoff picture as the seventh seed.

Up next is a road date with the 7-1 Kansas City Chiefs — the first such meeting of division rivals in 2024.

"As a young team, you have to find ways to not let this happen again," Nix said Sunday. "As an older team, with guys that have been around a long time, they’re able to just flush it. Move on to the next and go play. But I think we really got to look at this and see why it happened and try to fix our mistakes, so it doesn’t happen to us again, or we’ll be right back in this same situation.”

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