Bo Nix Is Dysfunctional, With Denver Winning In Spite Of Him

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix has gone from being a hot-button topic to a five-alarm dumpster fire in Denver, and he’s facing criticism and attacks on all front for his play in the Broncos’ 17-14 win over the Seattle Seahawks in overtime on Thursday night. 

The worst occurred right after the game, with former quarterback and current Prime Video analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick calling Nix’s effort “garbage,” adding that he’s not playing competitively. That incendiary evaluation was followed by a column from Denver Post columnist Troy Renck in which he noted that Nix has gone from “unrecognizable” to “dysfunctional.”

They’re both right. Nix has gone from struggling to awful, if you prefer shorter words, but there’s simply no way to ignore how genuinely bad he’s been. 

Renck took a deeper dive into this issue and asked some of the pointed but obvious questions being thrown around about what the Broncos intend to do about Nix. He noted that the Broncos were just 4-for-26 in third down coversions against Seattle on Thursday, and it’s becoming harder and harder for coach Sean Payton to cover up for Nix’s poor play. 

The columnist also noted that Nix is playing what he called “horizontal football,” which is a good description of a quarterback who averaged just 0.6 air yards per completion against Seattle. Damning stats are everywhere including another that had Nix throwing beyond the first-down marker on just one of 17 passing attempts. 

The obvious goal was to avoid turnovers, and the Broncos sort of accomplished that mission. Payton decided to wait for Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold to turn into a turnover machine as the Broncos’ brillian defense continued to pound him with their pass rush, and Darnold eventually complied with a pair of late interceptions that won the game for Denver. 

But the Broncos could almost have the same thing with a series of kneel-downs, because their offense really was that ineffective. Nix looked lost without the ability to run effectively on his own, as Renck also noted that he’s rushed 22 times for 37 yards and a touchdown versus 37 times for 180 yards and three touchdowns last season. 

Meanwhile, hot-take questions are lurking. Has Nix been told not to run in the aftermath of his surgery? Has he lost his confidence and his ability to drop back and function effectively because of the injury? Would Payton dare turn to backup Jarrett Stidham with Nix playing this badly?

Stay tuned. All of these questions are getting closer to being viable, and as Payton has noted, the Broncos season is slowly slipping away even though they’re 4-2 at the moment.