The Denver Broncos [https://roundtable.io/sports/nfl/broncos]are trying to fix [https://roundtable.io/sports/nfl/broncos/news/broncos-stock-report-had-plenty-of-offensive-losers-on-it] quarterback Bo Nix, and everyone has answers [https://roundtable.io/sports/nfl/broncos/news/playing-cooper-sends-a-bad-message-but-it-doesn-t-matter]. One of the more intriguing ones came from columnist Sean Keeler [https://www.denverpost.com/2026/10/19/broncos-bo-nix-scared-sean-payton/] of the Denver Post, who consulted a sports psychologist to get some ideas and answers about what’s been happening. The sports psychologist was Justin Anderson, who was referred to as “venerated,” according to Keeler. He said Nix’s first concern is to avoid mistakes, which is shifting his focus to what could happen rather than simply making the play at hand. It’s a classic fight-or-flight reaction, and it’s part of what’s causing Nix to bail quickly and make a horizontal throw or simply dirt the ball. But Anderson, who played quarterback in college at Minnesota Duluth and is the founder of Premier Sport Psychology, did offer some fixes, so let’s see what he came up with. Show Nix the good plays Positive reinforcement is almost always a good thing, but there’s a specific way to do it, per Anderson. The focus should be on what was happening mentally for him when he reviews his highlights, with a secondary focus on energy, body language, tempo, etc. This would remind Nix that he hasn’t forgotten how to play quarterback which is what he’s looked like at times during the last two games. to use Anderson’s lingo, it’s about getting Nix out of the land of “what if” and back into the mindset about “what now” when it comes to making the play. Train the brain to ignore ankle pain This is the really interesting one. Nix and the Broncos would probably deny to the heavens that he’s experiencing ankle pain, but as Keeler noted, Nix has been avoiding contact that would put his body or the ankle in jeopardy. Anderson’s answer to this was to create visual training exercises involving workarounds that get plays made. Fake it and flush it The key here is to get Nix to trust his process, which he clearly doesn’t right now. Anderson used an old quote from quarterback Rich Gannon, who once said that there are two types of quarterbacks, those who apply pressure and those who feel the pressure. Right now Nix is feeling the pressure, which is why he’s playing scared. Keeler’s overall conclusion is that Nix has to become the aggressor again. That’s his nature, but he’s not showing it now, and the Broncos season depends in large part on his ability to turn things around.
