The Denver Broncos didn't play well against the Green Bay Packers, but the only player who mattered did well.
Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton had a bit of a coaching meltdown after he saw what his team put on the field after a 33-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Denver’s second preseason game, but there was really only one thing that mattered.
Payton clearly doesn’t want to talk about the return of Bo Nix, as he offered a tepid endorsement of Nix’s play in the followup comments presented by Nick Kosmider of The Athletic.
“It seems like six hours ago, so I’m having trouble with his (two) series or whatnot,” Payton said of Nix’s first appearance of this preseason drive, a 15-play stint in which the quarterback completed 6 of 9 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown and led Denver to 10 points. “I thought he was solid.”
But some of the Broncos players seem aware that their coach is basically just pitching a nutty as they talked about Nix’s impressive performance. One who commented was linebacker Que Robinson, who emerged on defense as a possible future force to be reckoned with.
“It’s a morale booster, man,” pass rusher Que Robinson said of seeing Nix back on the field. “He had an injury and everyone wants to see him well. To see him bounce back from that and be the Bo we all know and love is a tremendous thing.”
Nix also offered some followup feedback on his performance, as he mentioned the benefits of the cleanup surgery he had to remove bone spurs in April.
“I felt like exactly where I left off,” Nix said. “Honestly, I felt better over time. I think the extra clean-up surgery was good for me because it put me back to square one. It’s as good as I’ve felt in a long time.”
The task now is to build more chemistry with his receivers, especially new connection Jaylen Waddle. The 35-yard streak that sparked Denver’s first drive was impressive, but Waddle also noted the work that needs to be done going forward.
“We’re still building that chemistry,” said Waddle, who sat out last week’s preseason opener as he continued to recover from a soft-tissue injury in his leg suffered early in training camp. “We’re just going to continue to build it in practice and get those quality reps in.”
The focus going forward will be on fixing all the issues Payton spotted, which is important. But Nix has already answered the most important question of the Broncos preseason as they prepare for their opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 14.
