Bo Nix’s debut did not go as expected. The rookie first-round pick seems lost.
He stared down a receiver in the red zone, giving the safety time to intercept the throw. He tried to hit Courtland Sutton in triple coverage, but the pass was again intercepted. He continuously threw the ball into harm’s way.
Nix didn’t get enough help. Courtland Sutton dropped two passes. Other receivers also dropped passes. But Nix did not help himself either.
Nix went 26-for-42 for 138 yards. The Denver Broncos fell 26-20 to the Seattle Seahawks.
“It was a challenge,” Nix explained. “It was a rough day. They didn’t make things simple for us.
Since winning Super Bowl 50, the Broncos’ quarterbacks have attempted at least ten passes in a game 134 times. Nix’s 47.5 passer rating on Sunday ranks 126th among those games.
Nix’s debut didn’t meet expectations, both visually and numerically.
But head coach Sean Payton assigns blame elsewhere.
“We just got to be better around him, and that’s my impression from just watching it without looking at the tape,” he told me.
The coach pointed at the protection, claiming it wasn’t quite where he wanted it. He cited the Broncos’ top two rushing backs, both of whom averaged fewer than three yards per carry.
He also pointed toward the receivers. During the game, Payton approached them on the bench to offer them a lift following the drops.
“Man, let’s help this guy,” Payton remarked.
Slow starts are usual for rookie quarterbacks. John Elway was benched in his first game after completing only one pass on his first 12 dropbacks. Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions during his rookie season. Caleb Williams, this year’s first overall pick, passed for fewer than 100 yards and had a passer rating of 55.7 in Week 1.
Slow starts are acceptable, as long as growth occurs.
“It’s big shoes for him to fill, but I feel like he’s learning,” rookie wide receiver Devaughn Vele said. “He’s getting better every single time, and we’re going to continue to trust him every single week.”
Nix also started slowly throughout the preseason.
While his numbers were impressive in all three games, he was nervous in his first appearance. He left clean pockets. He hurled the ball without setting his feet. He rushed rather than passing the ball to open receivers.
However, Nix played clean football in his final two preseason games. Could Nix’s growth occur quickly?
The Broncos received the ball with 4:28 remaining in the game, down 26-13. They needed to drive 77 yards for a quick touchdown, force a three-and-out on defence, and then execute another quick touchdown drive.
Nix completed his portion of the work despite the difficulty.
The youngster engineered a seven-play, 54-yard scoring drive. He targeted receivers in short portions of the field. He positioned them to get out of bounds. He completed the drive with a touchdown run.
It was definitely the greatest drive of the day, which included seven three-and-outs.
However, the defence was unable to return the ball to the offence, so Nix missed his opportunity to run the length of the field in less than two minutes and win the game.
“As poorly as we did, I think we gave ourselves a chance to win there at the end,” Nix joked. “We’ve never quit. We battled. It had the potential to escalate, but it did not. We were one possession away from having a chance.”
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