The Bo Nix era has opened with a whimper, as the Denver Broncos have struggled out to an 0-2 start. Nix has thrown four interceptions with zero touchdown passes, though he did rush for a score in Week 1.
The rookie’s QB rating through two games? 51.35.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton raised some eyebrows around the NFL when he named Nix the starter, opting to go through the growing pains over the journeyman alternative of Jarrett Stidham or the top-2 draft bust Zach Wilson. Forbes’ Vincent Frank believes Payton made a categorical mistake and is calling for the Broncos to bench Nix after two games.
“At this point, the Broncos must elevate either Stidham or Wilson to the starting job. In my opinion, Wilson should get the nod. He’s still young. He can provide some trade value if the quarterback performs at a high level.
“Nix should not see the field again until he gains more experience in practice and the Broncos actually add more skill-position talent. They have invested too much into him to continue down the path we’ve seen from other teams with young quarterbacks in the recent past,” Vincent wrote.
Ouch. Vincent is knee-jerking so hard he might be missing teeth.
That’s not to minimize the Broncos’ pathetic showing thus far under Nix, but Vincent’s take is utterly lacking perspective. There’s a reason why teams are reluctant to start a rookie quarterback: once you cross that sea, you have no choice but to burn the boats.
For better or for worse, the Broncos now have to weather this storm with Nix at the helm, knowing that he’s going to have to take his lumps, navigate his NFL trial-and-error learning curve, and find his professional footing. The hope is that at some point, the guys around him will rise to the occasion, and help to alleviate some of the pressure — all of which, right now, is weighing inordinately on Nix’s shoulders.
If the Broncos were to bench Nix, it sure wouldn’t preserve his confidence as Vincent half-heartedly argues in his article. Quite the opposite, really. It would destroy Nix’s confidence, and NFL history tells us that it’s a rare bird who goes from first-round pick, to day-one quarterback, to benched, and still finds a way to succeed.
Nope; the Broncos are in for a dime, in for a dollar on Nix. The only way out is through. This is when Payton’s veteran wherewithal and wisdom, ostensibly, should mitigate the rookie’s struggles, and level the playing field somewhat.
Instead, Payton has been as complicit as anyone in the Broncos’ failure to launch thus far. From highly questionable play-calling to an utter indifference to playtime and pulling out the slumper for the hot hand to making head-scratching decisions on fourth down, the Broncos head coach has left fans and media absolutely flummoxed through two weeks.
On Monday, Payton was adamant that Nix’s confidence hasn’t faltered, though. The veteran coach is striving to figure out the right play-call flow and personnel mixes to help Nix lift the offense out of this rut.
One of Nix’s traits that attracted the Broncos was his resilience and resume of battling through obstacles and overcoming adversity. His exciting start at Auburn was punctuated with a whimper after the Tigers head-coaching chang-over, and it would have been easy for Nix to give up the ghost, and follow his father, Patrick, into coaching.
But that’s not the cloth this kid is cut from. Nix transferred to Oregon, where he went on to set records. His resilience and confidence were two of his biggest draws for the Broncos.
And it might interest Mr. Vincent to know that “by no means” are the Broncos waiving the white flag on the 2024 season and sitting Nix down. Even if the Broncos were waiving the white flag after two datgum games, they’d only add insult to injury by benching him.
2024 will be a developmental year for Nix. The hope was that the Broncos could compete whilst the rookie learned on the hoof, but having $80 million in dead-cap charges to the salary cap has hamstrung this team from adding the ideal free-agent personnel. By the way, that situation will improve vastly next year, but nobody, including the Broncos, is remotely ready to turn the page to 2025 yet.
“He’s been through the fire storm, if you will. You’re better prepared, you’re better served when it comes around again,” Payton said on Monday of Nix. “By no means, we’re not in that position right now. Obviously, we would have liked to have started better, but my point is he’s someone that I think by nature is confident in his preparation, in his ability and is not going to be discouraged easily.”
By the way, Caleb Williams’ start in Chicago has been just as lackluster as Nix. That’s not to absolve Payton or Nix of the lack of production thus far, but it illustrates how it takes time for a rookie quarterback to find his footing, regardless of where he was picked in the first round.
“I have good confidence,” Nix said following the Broncos’ ugly 13-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. “I feel like I’ll continue to get better and look in the mirror and see what I can do and evaluate myself. I think it’s important to look at it from a bigger perspective… so my confidence is bigger than football. It’s bigger than wins and losses. Now, don’t make a mistake about it—I’m going out there and competing my tail off, trying to win every single game for this team behind me because they deserve it. I feel like the confidence level is going to continue to build the more and more you play.”
I don’t think anybody at Broncos HQ is ready to call it a season or pull the plug on the Nix era.
