Falcons Jessie Bates Pokes Fun at Broncos QB Bo Nix

Atlanta Falcons All-Pro safety Jessie Bates knows Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix isn't your typical rookie.

Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates heats things up a bit ahead of Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons (6-4) head west to take on old nemesis Sean Payton and his Denver Broncos (5-5) on Sunday. The Broncos are in the midst of a rebuild, but are well ahead of schedule in large part because of a surprising defense and the play of rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

The Falcons took a hard look at Nix in the pre-draft process, but elected to take Washington's Michael Penix at No. 8 overall. The Broncos took Nix at No. 12 overall, and the returns have been good on the 24-year old signal caller.

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On Friday Falcons All-Pro safety Jessie Bates was asked about facing Nix, and he was unintentionally goaded into poking fun at the player who made more starts in college than any quarterback who came before him.

"10 games is usually enough film to really see a quarterback's strengths or weaknesses or what they like to do," said Bates when asked if he had a good read on Nix. "But yeah, it's not multiple years where we can go back. It's almost sometimes a good thing when you don't have that much. You know, you're not overthinking."

Bates admitted that he got to see plenty of Nix in college. First at Auburn and then at Oregon.

"You know what this quarterback is capable of," said Bates. "We've been watching him in college for the past five or six years, however long it was."

One of the members of Atlanta's press threw out "10 years," and Bates played along.

"Yeah, 10 years," Bates said to a round of laughs. "Whatever it is; he's not a rookie quarterback. It seems like he's a graduate student almost."

Nix was drafted by the Broncos with the expectation of starting right away. Once the Broncos decided to jettison last-year's starter Russell Wilson and take on a record $85-million dead cap (spread across two years), Denver had little choice but to hope their first-round draft choice would come good.

The rookie predictably got off to a slow start with just three touchdowns against four interceptions in his first-five games. However, he has seven touchdowns in his last-five games against just-two interceptions while facing the likes of the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs. He's also added 290 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

Bates's unintentional dig at Nix wasn't meant with any malice or with the idea of providing bulletin board material. His teammate Penix is in roughly the same boat as Nix. Nix turned 24-years old in February while Penix hit the same age in May. Both were five-year starters at two universities. Nix was able to stay healthy in his career resulting in more games.

The Falcons have the luxury of not playing Penix right away while he deputizes behind veteran Kirk Cousins. Bates has been impressed with the play of Nix thus far, and he's not the only Falcon to feel that way. Defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake knows Nix can cause his defense a multitude of problems,

"You can see the progression," said Lake on Friday. "Sean's (Payton) done an amazing job with him. You can see the talent that Bo had in college. He's fast, he's smart, he's accurate, gets rid of the ball. I think that's what Sean's done a really good job of, creating an offense where he's able to deliver the ball quickly, see a read, get rid of it, or use his legs and run for some yards.

"He's one of the best guys that we have faced through 11 weeks in terms of being able to move the chains with his legs. I've seen a progression. You see the confidence building. He's going to be something to deal with on Sunday.”

The Falcons are a 2.0-point underdog as of Friday heading to Denver. The line has fluctuated between 1.5 and 2.5 all week. Lake will need to apply pressure to Nix and Denver's short passing game, or it's going to be a long day for his defense. Payton and Nix are perfectly content with long-methodical drives that eat up a lot of clock.

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