Sean Payton Says Broncos Need to 'Be Better' Around Rookie QB Bo Nix

Sean Payton felt that Bo Nix played well in hostile Seattle, despite how it looked from the outside.

Sep 8, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton watches pregame warmups against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

If Tom Brady is given some slack as he eases into his new job, perhaps Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix should be afforded the benefit of the doubt. Framed in the wider context of what Broncos head coach Sean Payton is trying to develop over the long haul with Nix, inevitably, there were always going to be days like the 26-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

For all of the evaluations to be done before Russell Wilson's Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Mile High City next week, certain problems need to be solved. How the Broncos got away from the running game in Seattle will be atop the to-do list, and in a winnable contest, it was particularly bothersome.

Payton spoke to his team's balance issues offensively, and unflinchingly defended his rookie quarterback post-game.

"There's always that balance of, man, we're attempting to and then it's hard to keep, and so whether it's base personnel, we're going to look at the tape and we're going to say evaluate, us as coaches, we've got to evaluate the run plan and why it wasn't as effective as we would like," Payton said immediately after the final gun. "It's going to be hard to (play) quarterback, period, if that's the best we can do running the ball."

Playing complementary football is the sure route to success, especially for a team starting a rookie signal-caller like Nix. Faced with the Steelers' twin towers of terror in T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward in short order, the Broncos O-line simply cannot be overwhelmed as it was for sustained periods on Sunday.

Expect Payton to catch some flak over his seemingly ultra-conservative game plan, too. After all, Nix was only permitted to freewheel a bit in garbage time when the Broncos were trailing by two touchdowns in Seattle.

Keeping Nix on schedule within the confines of the offense is understandable, but it also detracts from the playmaking ability he displayed late in the fourth quarter. Payton will remain unabashed when asking his guys to give more of themselves to their rookie quarterback, and that means blocking, running, and catching much more soundly.

"I think this. I don't know how many balls we dropped, and so I've said that before, for any quarterback playing, we've got to be more effective running the football," Payton said in no uncertain terms. "If (you) take away his scrambling yards, I think we're like somewhere (around) 60 yards rushing to their 140, so not nearly good enough."

We knew that Nix was going to get his nose rubbed in the dirt along the trial-and-error path to becoming a bonafide NFL quarterback, so Payton was quite right to throw his support behind the rookie after his difficult debut.

"I think part of being a young player is he's fairly confident—I don't want to say kid, but, yeah, I felt the whole time, he was into it, competing," Payon said. "We just got to be better around him and that's my impressions from just watching it without looking at the tape."

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Overall, Nix certainly didn't crumble under pressure, despite his pair of interceptions and several errant passes he should have completed to open receivers. The rookie dug deep and dragged his team within a touchdown of winning the game with just over two minutes remaining, so there was much to like despite the unfortunate and, at times, ugly loss.

Unfortunately, Broncos rush linebacker Baron Browning jumping offsides on a pivotal 3-&-11 past the two-minute warning gave the Seahawks a more workable down to get the required yards, which allowed them to run the clock out. As with any young team just finding its feet, executing under pressure is something the Broncos are yet to fully grasp as a collective unit, but it hurts.

Payton is on a quest to find offensive balance, but trying to find a cohesive strategy on the road in Seattle was never going to be easy, and so it proved. Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II passionately gave his backing to Nix post-game, presumably because he knows his QB will need it.

While Nix showed all the common failings of many a rookie to precede him, at least that old head on young shoulders remains intact to fight another day.

"It was a challenge. It was a tough day. They didn't take it easy on us, that's for sure," Nix said. "Like I said, we competed. We went down there and scored at the end and gave ourselves a chance to win. We were an inch away on an almost batted ball that Riley Moss made an incredible play on that they just made a better play. It's tough. You've got to give them credit, but we battled and continued to fight. Those are the emotions of today, that we've got a competitive team. We've got a team that's not going to quit. And we're going to put everything on the line. No matter if it's an ugly start, we're going to continue to find ways to finish."

There's no point in letting negative energy take over this early. It's best to cultivate positive vibes as the Broncos season has only just begun.

"We'll watch the tape, but he gave us a chance," Payton concluded on Nix post-game. "Our protection was average at best and I believe this. At one point in the game, I came to the bench and talked to the receivers and said look, 'Let's go,' you know? I don't know how many drops we had, but, 'Man, let's help this guy.'"

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