After the Denver Broncos’ Week 10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, many analysts questioned Bo Nix and the Sean Payton offense. It was on the Broncos to step up after they struggled as much as they did against the Raiders, and step up they did in Sunday’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The biggest onus was on Nix, who looked like a shell of himself against the Raiders, seeming to lack confidence in his reads, throws, and his weapons to make the plays needed.
With the Chiefs being the Broncos’ biggest game of the season, they needed their offense to step up. There was reason to have faith in the Broncos’ defense, even against Patrick Mahomes and company, but the Chiefs’ defense is a good unit, and Nix and the offense needed to pick up the slack.
In the game, the Broncos were unable to establish the run without J.K. Dobbins, who was placed on season-ending injured reserve on Saturday. The Broncos average 2.8 yards per carry, with Jaleel McLaughlin picking up 3.2 per rush on only six attempts. The Broncos’ hopes of getting a running game going fell on the rookie RJ Harvey, who had 11 attempts, picking up 2.7 yards per attempt.
Now, it wasn’t just the running backs; the Broncos’ offensive line probably had its worst game of the season. While it was the Bronocs’ fifth-highest game in pressure percentage, they struggled even more in the ground attack and were unable to generate momentum or create holes reliably and consistently.
The game fell on Nix, who threw the ball 37 times, completing 24 passes for 295 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. However, despite this being his fourth-highest passing yardage in a game thus far in his young career, it’s how Nix completed these throws that stands out and illustrates the magnitude of his bounce-back in this statement win.
Confidence Returns
To put it simply, Nix looked confident in himself and his reads. This showed on an early 3rd-&-14 throw to Courtland Sutton. Nix hit the top of his drop, climbed the pocket, and fired the throw to Sutton. There was no hitch in his step, no pump-faking — just Nix hitting his drop, climbing, and making the throw.
Nix’s confidence showed throughout the game. It was a much-needed bounce-back for his game after that win against the Raiders. Nix is a confident player, so he has to have confidence in himself and his abilities to play more freely and live less in his head.
Trust in Playmakers
When it comes to Nix’s confidence in his playmakers, there is no need to look further than the game Troy Franklin had. With two drops early on vs. the Chiefs, one on a deep shot and the other on a third down, it would have been easy for Nix to justify not looking his way again.
Fortunately, Nix still had confidence and trust in his college teammate, as Franklin caught two big passes late in the game, including one on a critical down to set Denver up in favorable field goal range for Wil Lutz to hit the game-winner.
Improved Footwork
A lot of this also falls back on the footwork Nix displayed against the Chiefs compared to what he has shown for most of the season. It has been a problem for most of the season, but for the first time, it wasn’t the most significant issue in his game.
Now, it wasn’t a perfect game from Nix, as a couple of bad decisions and reads led to a near interception while looking for Pat Bryant. Another read saw Nix miss a wide-open Bryant in a clear throwing lane.
But the good news is, only two plays stick out like a sore thumb among all the great things Nix did, and in no way do they diminish how good he was against the Chiefs.
The Takeaway
The Broncos need this version of Nix for the rest of the season, with the footwork, confidence, and trust in his weapons. If he can do it, winning out isn’t outside of the realm of possibility.
However, the Broncos need to find a way to get a running game going without Dobbins and clean up the penalties to help keep pressure off Nix and insulate him from reverting to his previous form.
It’s something that has been proven over many years in the NFL: a reliable ground attack and a clean game are the best ways to keep a quarterback playing great. The less pressure a quarterback is under, the better an offense can hum, outside of a few of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, a group that Nix could join when it’s all said and done.
