A path to the first-down marker materialized in front of Bo Nix as the Denver Broncos’ rookie quarterback escaped the pocket to his right on a third-and-6 play during Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. Nix has been a faster ball carrier this season than coaches and teammates say they expected him to be, and he’s similarly taken opponents by surprise with his speed at times this season.
“He is a really dangerous quarterback,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said, “as you all saw.”
So it would have been hard to fault Nix if he decided to pull the ball down and sprint toward the sideline trying to prolong a drive late in the first quarter.
Instead, Nix scanned the field as he moved, keeping his options open. He saw running back Javonte Williams raise his arms in the middle of the field and quickly launched the ball across his body, just before crossing the line of scrimmage. With ample room to run after catching the on-target pass, Williams helped turn the improvisational play into a 34-yard gain — the biggest of the day for the Broncos in their humbling 41-10 loss.
“This is Bo Nix to a T,” CBS analyst Tony Romo said as the replay rolled on the television broadcast. “Extending plays, using his legs.”
The ability to use his athleticism to make plays for the Broncos offense — either to buy time as a passer or buy an extra set of downs by turning into a runner — has been a defining trait of Nix’s rookie season and a gateway to some of Denver’s more explosive moments offensively. His 295 rushing yards are the most by a Broncos quarterback through the first nine games of a season in team history, according to Pro Football Reference. His throw to Williams — and another big pass to Courtland Sutton in the fourth quarter — illustrated the stress Nix can put on a defense when he gets to the edge, where his ability as a dual threat forced opponents into difficult choices.
The matchup with the Ravens also demonstrated the limits Nix’s ability to operate outside of structure can have for Denver’s offense. The most glaring example came as the Broncos failed to score on their two goal-to-go drives in the fourth quarter. The two possessions had a similar profile. They averaged 10 plays and 55 net yards and both advanced as far as the Baltimore 1-yard line. Both came up empty, partly because the Ravens built a fence around Nix and closed off his escape hatches.
On third-and-goal at the 1-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, Nix took a shotgun snap and dropped back into a clean pocket. He first moved out of the pocket to his right despite having time. That lane was closed and he moved back to his left, hoping to buy enough time to get a clearing on his left and allow his receivers to find a soft spot in coverage in the end zone. But fast as Nix may be, he couldn’t outrun Trenton Simpson, who ran a 4.43 at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.
“Didn’t need to leave the pocket,” Romo said over the replay. “Just stay, wait for it (to open up).”
On the second fourth-quarter drive that reached the end zone, the Broncos faced a second-and-goal from the Baltimore 3-yard line. Nix rolled out so far right as he tried to find a passing window that he ultimately stepped out of bounds before he threw the ball away, resulting in a 6-yard sack.
Those failings at the end of those two drives, of course, weren’t all on Nix. A similar scenario for the Ravens in the second quarter illustrated the gap in weaponry between the two offenses. On a third-and-goal at the 7-yard line, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson extended the play as he moved to his right, just as Nix would try to do in a nearly identical spot later in the game. But Jackson had a shifty target in Zay Flowers who evaded nickel Ja’Quan McMillian late in the play and emerged as an open target for Jackson in the back of the end zone.
A trick & a treat. 🎃
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/Dj3JZ6Bclu
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 3, 2024
The Broncos don’t have a player like that on offense — not yet, anyway — and there won’t be arriving ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s NFL trade deadline.
“Honestly, the focus is on the guys in this building right here,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said during a conference call with reporters Monday. “Superman’s not walking in.”
For now, Nix putting on the cape tends to be the best thing the Broncos have going offensively. Teams are beginning to pay more respect to the damage he can cause with his athleticism. Allocating more resources to account for Nix as a runner — heck, even as a receiver now that he’s tied for third on the team in touchdown receptions (one) — should create more open windows for him when he does stay in the pocket. Maximizing those opportunities has to be a priority during the second half of his rookie season. For the Broncos to take a leap offensively, plays like the overthrown fourth-and-4 deep ball for an open Troy Franklin in the end zone must be completions.
“You can’t overshoot him on fourth down when he’s 5 yards behind the defender,” Romo said.
The Broncos need to run the ball more efficiently in the second half of the season, Payton said Monday, for the offense to take another step. He hinted that rookie running back Audric Estimé could see more work in the backfield. Nix, who could challenge Tim Tebow (660 yards) for the franchise quarterback rushing record by season’s end, will continue to be a major part of the rushing plan. It’s what makes him “dangerous,” as Harbaugh said Sunday.
But Nix will be even more dangerous when he can wear the cape while standing in the pocket as well as he does when he leaves it.
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(Photo: Mitch Stringer / Imagn Images)
