The Denver Broncos are vying for the No. 1 seed in the American Football Conference and have won 11 straight games going into their Week 16 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Who would have thought that after Denver fell to 1-2 on the season that they would be in position to secure the AFC West division title and the first-round bye? Probably not head coach Sean Payton, who believed his offense had no identity.
Payton wanted Denver to run the ball more proficiently, and for a chunk of the year they were getting monster contributions from the running game, mainly because of veteran running back J.K. Dobbins. Since Dobbins went down for the season in Week 10, rookie RJ Harvey has taken over as the starter. While Harvey has done well is certain areas, the Broncos haven’t had the same success running the ball without Dobbins.
Thus, Payton wanted quarterback Bo Nix to play under center more, to help the running game and to open up more looks for the passing game. That plan has worked beautifully and it was on full display against a formidable Green Bay Packers team last week.
Nix completed 23 of 34 passes for 302 yards and four touchdowns and wasn’t sacked, posting an 88.0 quarterback rating and 134.7 passer rating.
Part of Nix’s early-season struggles were due to his choppy and uncomfortable footwork, a problem that has been resolved by this recent change.
“Broncos coach Sean Payton has put his QB under center more over the past four games than earlier in the season, with Nix's three highest totals for the year coming over that span,” ESPN’s Jeff Legwold wrote Saturday. “And it has cleaned up Nix's footwork and pumped up the efficiency of the Broncos' run game a bit. Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said this week, ‘I think his footwork has gotten a lot better.’ Nix has had three of his four games this season with at least 295 passing yards over those past four games, including the four-touchdown game against the Packers.”
This is the kind of momentum you want to see out of a real contender. Not only is the offense rolling, but the defense is one of the best units in the National Football League. Even in tough situations, the Broncos find ways to win games, and that’s what a good team does. They will be a tough out in the playoffs if Nix keeps playing like he has over the past month.