Bo Nix has got this.
He is going to play well against the Chiefs. That is, if Sean Payton lets him. If Payton stops being stubborn.
The coach knows there is a way to win every game, even the biggest in Denver in a decade. The solution this week is simple: Stop trying to fit Nix into the offense and fit the offense around him.
The Broncos have reached an inflection point. Ten games into Nix’s uneven second season, it is time for Payton and quarterbacks coach Davis Webb, if he is the future head coach we think he is, to do everything to help their quarterback.
“To go where we want to go, there has to be improvement (with the offense), and certainly we understand that,” Payton said Wednesday. “It’s not Bo. I think it’s part of the whole process. We are always looking to find easy completions.”
This is not about passes, of which Nix has only completed 57.7% over the past six weeks. It is about the operation. Nix looks stressed, like he is cramming for a calculus final for his favorite professor. He embraces hard coaching. But he looks like he is feeling too much pressure to please Payton, which is made more difficult by play calls that double as Tolstoy novels, hockey line changes between plays, and limited time to assess the defense after breaking the huddle.
The result is gear grinding, a short temper, heightened emotions. Payton needs to return the Joy of Nix.
He can be trusted. He is 25 going on 45, a coach’s son in every way, steeped in scripture and convinced those who are humble will be exalted. Did you hear his answer when asked about how he deals with critics?
“For me, it’s quite simple. I delete all my social media. So unless somebody says it to my face, I really don’t hear it. And nobody is ever bold enough to say it to my face,” Nix said with a grin.
“Life is not about being fair. You are going to be faced with adversity, and honestly, a lot of people are not going to like you. … I can promise you, win a Super Bowl one day, people are going to say the same thing. My dad (Patrick) has won state championships and will be coming off the field, and someone will say, ‘Hey, coach, do you think we can run the ball more next year?’ There is always going to be negativity. But, at the end of the day, it is truly a blessing to be in this position because you can impact other people.”
See? Nix gets it.
He does everything the staff asks, the first since Peyton Manning to fully understand the responsibility of being the Broncos’ starting quarterback. Behind the scenes, he is compared favorably to Manning with his maturity and mental makeup.
As a teammate and leader, he is doing everything right off the field. It is on Payton to do right by him on the field.
Want to slow down his happy feet? Ease the burden on his head.
“I think Year 2 was the hardest year of my career,” NFL Today CBS studio analyst and former NFL MVP quarterback Matt Ryan said. “There is a wave that comes with success that I had as a rookie. And there is a bit of a regression. I thought I had a mastery of the offense. I did not. Sean Payton knows Bo. He knows how to get him going.”
Payton must play to Nix’s strengths. Which, oh by the way, also happens to be what the Broncos do well. They should be a run-first team even with J.K. Dobbins sidelined.
How do they cover for the NFL’s fifth-leading rusher? Design runs for Nix, remind him it is OK to scramble for easy yards when he climbs the pocket. He is durable, smart and never puts himself at risk. There is zero reason he cannot collect 45 yards on the ground.
His new locker buddy Marcedes Lewis told him as a much after the Houston victory when Nix set up the winning field goal with 34 yards rushing on the final drive.
“Early in games, I think it could help by moving him around. Get him outside the pocket,” Ryan said. “He’s a guy from my outside perspective who has a lot of fast-twitch to him. I played with a lot of running backs and receivers who were that way. And I think a physical play early on or something designed could help him slow the game down.”
If this sounds reckless, it is not. Not with Nix.
He has the respect of his teammates. They believe in him, if no other reason, because he plays with a slow heartbeat in the fourth quarter when he ranks first in the NFL in game-winning drives, touchdowns, first downs and completions over 10 yards.
“It is hard to have success in this league because all that means is that you are ready for more. The whole town is waiting for you to have more. You are waiting for more and it gets stressful,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “He never lets it affect him. All he cares about is winning. He is so tough and competitive. As he goes through this, we will find ways to improve. We are not apologizing for being 8-2, and I don’t care what anybody says about our offense. We are doing it when it matters, and Bo is the only guy we want leading this team.”
If Payton is serious about nudging Nix out of this rut, he has to take things off his plate.
Turn that Waffle House play sheet into an In-N-Out Burger menu. Sprinkle in some uptempo.
In the first three quarters, Nix ranks ahead of only Titans quarterback Cam Ward in completion percentage and Cleveland’s Dillon Gabriel in yards per attempt.
The reality is that the Broncos can reach their goals if their quarterback plays like he did the final 12 games of last season.
Lean into Nix. He has earned it.
When was the last time the Broncos lost a game because of him since the second week of his rookie season? Try never.
He was the best player on the field at the Ravens, outplayed Patrick Mahomes at Kansas City, went John Elway against the Bengals, kept the Chargers within reach in the last two matchups, was serviceable against the Bills and delivered at the Colts.
In the final quarter of games, Nix is remarkable. The first three quarters have clarified what is unacceptable.
Payton must let Bo be an athlete. Let him run. Let it rip. He’s got this.
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