Mile High Huddle

Broncos HC Payton Takes Blame for Bo Nix INT: 'That Call Was Not Good'

The Broncos coach threw himself under the bus following MNF.

Zack Kelberman

Dec 2, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Dec 2, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw a pair of interceptions in Monday night's 41-32 win over the Cleveland Browns — and he was to blame for neither.

The first pick occurred early in the second quarter when Browns cornerback Denzel Ward made a speculator play to tip the ball to a teammate, reaching around Broncos receiver Troy Franklin.

The second came in the final frame with Denver holding a six-point lead. Head coach Sean Payton, rather than salt away the clock, dialed up a deep shot to WR Marvin Mims that (owed again to Ward) ended the drive after a single snap.

“That was my fault, that call was not good," Payton conceded in his post-game press conference. "There is a poise about that group. We did not set ourselves back with minus plays really like we maybe had in the first half. It was a key moment where we were at, down one point in the game.”

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Nix, the reigning three-time Offensive Rookie of the Week, finished 18-of-35 for 294 yards, one touchdown, and two INTs as the Broncos pulled to 8-5 and put themselves in the driver's seat for the seventh playoff seed in the AFC.

“There were a lot of plays in that game, a lot of kind of different football plays that happen," Nix said. "Really it’s just all about going to the next drive, not worrying about the score, not worrying about what happened before. Just worrying about getting the next good play off. I thought at times we ran the ball well, at times we threw the ball well. We kind of just put everything together as best as possible. We just found the way to win the game."

While Payton admittedly didn't do Nix many favors with his play-calling, the latter's lone scoring toss — a 93-yard catch-and-run by Mims — was equal parts coaching and execution that helped Denver avoid snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in what was a true back-and-forth affair.

“They play a certain coverage. They play a certain coverage and they play it a couple of different ways," Payton explained. "We want to put speed at the two, where Mims was, and then we were outside with speed and [WR Courtland] Sutton. We hit that turkey hole. Sometimes that ball might go outside. It was a heck of a throw and catch and a huge play.”

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Zack Kelberman
ZACK KELBERMAN

Zack Kelberman is the Senior Editor for Mile High Huddle. He has covered the NFL for more than a decade and the Denver Broncos since 2016. He's also the co-host of the wildly popular Broncos show the Mile High Huddle Podcast.

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