Morning After: Sean Payton Shares True Take on Sideline Tilt with Bo Nix

Did a night's sleep change Sean Payton's view of Bo Nix's fiery sideline repartee?

Oct 6, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) passes to running back Jaleel McLaughlin (38) for a touchdown in the third quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Empower Field at Mile High. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Denver Broncos sit at 3-2 on the season after defeating the Las Vegas Raiders, 34-18. It was a complementary win and it put the Broncos in sole possession of second place in the AFC West.

During the game, passions overflowed as head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Bo Nix got into a sideline spat of sorts, only to quickly make up by the end of Denver's next possession. Both coach and player addressed their unique "love language" after the game, adding some much-needed levity as they dismissed the notion of there being any rift between the two.

Nix gets points, it seems, for firing back in kind to his ultra-demanding head coach. Having slept on it overnight, Payton's take didn't change. He loved it.

“All good. It’s the heat of the moment, it’s the game. It’s competitive, he’s fiery," Payton said on Monday. "We’re in the business of passion. We’re looking for passion, and we’re looking for people who have passion for the game—not other things. I think that it’s so important to him. Again I loved his response. We’re on to the next play, and it’s nothing.”

Broncos QB Bo Nix was PISSED at head coach Sean Payton. pic.twitter.com/sbLCJHMgP6

— Arye Pulli (@AryePulli) October 6, 2024

Nix seemed to take some steps forward in Week 5. It was an ugly, disjointed start, with the rookie quarterback struggling to get in sync with his receivers. That worm turned in the second half, though, and Nix would finish with over 200 yards passing and three total touchdowns (two passing).

It was also Nix's third straight game without turning the ball over. It's no coincidence that Denver has won all three of Nix's turnover-less games.

On Monday, having had the chance to watch the film and form a more solid evaluation on how his players performed vs. the Raiders, Payton was asked how Nix can improve.

“I think it's a broad-based question just because he's young and there's a number of things," Payton said of Nix. "We watched the tape this morning, and what we just talked about there might be four plays he's looking at [saying], 'I wish we would've, I could've done this.' I think overall he's understanding the game better and better relative to the amount of personnel groupings, for instance, that he sees defensively... How that impacts protections is much different than when the player is in college. He might go the whole game where he sees dime defense and maybe a few change-ups. So he's doing a real good job with his protections and understanding where he's short."

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As time marches on and Nix gets a better understanding of what NFL defenses are going to throw at him, that aspect of his game will continue to improve. But aside from his talent and football IQ, there's one additional trait that will allow the Broncos to continue to compete amid the quarterback's rookie learning curve: Nix's stubbornness to avoid the sack and negative play.

Payton places a very high premium on this trait, for reasons Broncos Country is beginning to fully grasp as the wins stack up. Juxtaposed against Russell Wilson's constant giveaways last season, Nix's ball protection is glaring.

"I think he's playing with confidence, and every week his feet make some plays for us that are important," Payton said. "I keep getting back to—I think there were two sacks yesterday—but he's hard to sack. When he plays, you're not on the cusp of a minus play. He has real good command of what he's doing. I've said this before and I'll say it again: we have to keep painting a better picture around him.”

Since the Broncos' 0-2 start, Payton has been urging the offensive line and skill-position players to elevate their game to "help our guy out." Each week, it seems, the Broncos' offense inches closer to the vision Payton has for Nix and the unit.

The Broncos are almost there, and the second half of Sunday's action gave fans a glimpse of what it'll eventually look like. The fierce slate of defenses Nix was fated to face in his first four starts was viewed as a curse of sorts, but the Broncos weathered that storm, 2-2.

But that crucible could have forged something in Nix that'll shape him into a sharp tool much faster than fans and media may have expected. Perhaps it was a blessing, after all. The Raiders seemed helpless in the face of the 34 unanswered points the Broncos put up. Albeit, seven of them came courtesy of Patrick Surtain II's sensational pick-six.

The early returns on the Nix era are more than encouraging. He became the first Broncos rookie to start the season-opener since John Elway. Nix is now the first quarterback in team history to win three straight games as a rookie and the only guy to ever complete a pass to 11 different players in a single game. The previous high was 10.

If these aren't encouraging harbingers of the future, I don't know what is.

As Nix continues to find his footing, and the players around him close ranks by rising to the occasion, the Broncos' defense keeps smothering opponents. Throw in a disciplined, complementary special-teams unit that capitalizes on its opportunities, and contributes to the battle for field position, and Payton's arithmetic is beginning to take shape as a bonafide football formula.

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