DENVER — On a day Bo Nix yet again reached new heights as a passer, he had little to do with what may have been his favorite play in a rout of the Atlanta Falcons. The Broncos rookie quarterback loved it for what he believes it represents about his team — and where it can go in a season still full of possibilities.
Nix had a perfect view after he handed the ball to Javonte Williams inside the red zone in the second quarter as the running back slammed into his former teammate, Falcons safety Justin Simmons, at the 5-yard line. Nix watched as Williams drove his legs, buying time so the wave of help could arrive before him. Wide receivers Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Devaughn Vele came first. Then hulking guards Quinn Meinerz and Ben Powers. Veteran receiver Courtland Sutton closed in to help the ball of large humans finish their charge into the end zone.
“That play is kind of the epitome of this week,” Nix said after the Broncos moved to 6-5 with a 38-6 win that completed a season sweep of the NFC South. “We’ve been wanting to get over a hurdle. We got stopped there for a minute, and then everybody comes around and pushes him into the end zone. Those are the plays that you love to see from an offense and a team, really. It looks like one united team going for one goal.”
His feet were literally in the air. 😅@javontewill33 breaks down his group-effort TD: pic.twitter.com/wFfMFb6DSN
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 18, 2024
If the 14-yard touchdown run revealed the character and grit of the Broncos as they responded to last week’s gut-wrenching, final-play loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, it was Nix’s performance that offered a view of Denver’s ceiling. For this season and the playoff race to come, sure. But also in a future for the Broncos where they have clearly found their franchise quarterback, the evidence growing each week.
“In this day and age, that’s everything,” defensive tackle Zach Allen said. “There’s not a lot of teams that are winning without that quarterback position being set. For us to have that guy and for him to continue to grow, that’s going to be huge for us. We’re seeing the benefits of it already.”
Nix on Sunday completed 28-of-33 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns — one in every quarter. He became only the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 200 yards and two touchdowns in four straight home games. He’s now on a list that includes Peyton Manning as the only other name.
“I told him, ‘Man, you’re trying to win MVP,’” cornerback Pat Surtain said. “It’s not even looking like offensive rookie of the year. It’s looking like MVP now.”
Yes, PS2 is getting ahead of himself. But teammates can be forgiven for the giddy declarations about a quarterback who continues to look almost unrecognizable from the one who operated the offense during the first month of the season. An opening schedule that included a debut on the road in Seattle, a matchup with a veteran Steelers defense and a rain-soaked game at MetLife Stadium wasn’t exactly an invitation for Nix to seamlessly stroll into life in the NFL. There were always going to be struggles.
But it’s the pace of the growth that has been most breathtaking. Since the start of October, a span of seven games, Nix is completing 69 percent of his passes. He has thrown 13 touchdowns and only two interceptions — and he’s rushed for two more scores. He has posted a 106.3 passer rating. The only quarterbacks in the same statistical ballpark during that span: Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield and Joe Burrow.
“I feel like each week, I’m just finding ways to get better,” Nix said. “You’re seeing different things. It’s always adjusting on the fly and reacting to what you see. You can study all you want, but I can’t go out there and predict what plays they’re going to run or what calls they’re going to be in. At that point, you’re just reading and reacting, and I think we do a good job of putting me in a good spot and letting me have some answers and choices. We just go out there and find them.”
Broncos coach Sean Payton said often in the season’s early days that Nix’s growth would come, but the Broncos always had to paint a more complete picture around him. The numbers would suggest that’s exactly what’s happening. Sutton on Sunday capped arguably the best four-game stretch of his career. Since Week 8, he has 28 receptions, 370 yards and one touchdown. He’s been a steady, dependable target who drew praise from Nix for how he caught a pass over the middle Sunday, knowing he would be blasted by safety Jessie Bates.
Other weapons are blossoming, too. Vele, the rookie seventh-round pick, had four catches for 66 yards and has continued to be a third-down weapon for a team that has made an about-face on that critical down the past month of the season. Seven other receivers caught passes as the Broncos scored a season-high five offensive touchdowns — and four different receivers caught Nix’s four touchdown passes.
LET’S GO, BO!#BroncosCountry 🤝 @BoNix10 pic.twitter.com/Xb7Kq9J4KR
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 18, 2024
The Broncos’ defense, meanwhile, has allowed one touchdown in its past two games after limiting the Falcons to a pair of first-half field goals. They held running back Bijan Robinson to only 35 yards on 12 carries. They sacked Kirk Cousins three times before he gave way to rookie Michael Penix Jr. late in the fourth quarter, the game well out of reach. Playing without starting safety Brandon Jones (abdomen) for the first time this season, the Broncos allowed only four third-down conversions by the Falcons in 13 attempts. The performance came against a Falcons team that had averaged 27 points in its last seven games.
“Last week, I put the performance on the defense,” safety P.J. Locke said of Denver’s 16-14 loss to the Chiefs that would have been a win had Wil Lutz’s 35-yard field goal attempt at the buzzer not been blocked. “We gave up some things we shouldn’t have, not executing and things like that, so it came down to a field goal and it probably shouldn’t have. This week, we really honed in on communication. We had extra meetings and things like that, just making sure everyone was on the same page. It paid dividends today. We just can’t get complacent. We know we’re a top-five, top-10 defense, but we’re trying to be No. 1. There’s always room for improvement.”
The Broncos were 6-5 at this time last season, too, in the thick of the playoff race. They then lost four out of their final six games. Payton has insisted the foundation of this team is different. The emphatic response to last week’s heartbreak is one example.
“It still gets back to the players and the make-up,” Payton said. “It gets back to the things we keep talking about: the grit, the toughness. This is a team that (is) different from a year ago and kind of has that. Their response was really good.”
It is those intangibles that could help the Broncos, a full game ahead of the teams chasing them in the wild-card race, clear the playoff hurdle for the first time since 2015. But the continued growth of a red-hot rookie quarterback could eventually elevate this team well beyond that. Sunday offered another glimpse of that enticing future.
“Our league, you’re learning each week and then pretty soon you’re like, ‘I belong here,’” Payton said. “It’s clear he belongs here.”
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(Photo: Dustin Bradford / Getty Images)
