Denver Broncos fans cheered loudly when Bo Nix took the field for his first preseason start on Sunday night.
Broncos fans want Nix to be the long-awaited answer to their quarterback woes. His performance on Sunday night won’t slow down the excitement.
If the Broncos were leaning toward Nix starting the season opener, and all indications are that’s the case, then Nix might be announced as the QB1 soon. The 12th pick of the NFL Draft looked very good against the Green Bay Packers, a quality follow-up to a nice game in the preseason opener. It would be stunning at this point if Nix isn’t named the starter for the regular season opener.
The Broncos offense moves with Nix at quarterback. It did in the preseason opener and did again Sunday night. Nix hasn’t had ridiculous highlight passes downfield like Caleb Williams this preseason, but he has made the right decisions often and looked in the type of rhythm Sean Payton likes from his quarterbacks.
Nix played into the second quarter on Sunday. He completed 8-of-9 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown for a robust 140.7 passer rating. After that, it would make no sense for the Broncos to start Jarrett Stidham over Nix. However, we’ll wait on Payton’s official word.
Nix’s numbers would have been even better but a nice play in the first quarter didn’t officially count. Near the goal line, he escaped the pressure to his left but kept looking downfield. He found Javonte Williams in the end zone and flipped him a pass for a touchdown. A replay review showed Nix was over the line of scrimmage when he threw it, wiping out the play. He’ll have to work on his awareness but the play itself showed off his creativity and talent. The Broncos will take that and not worry too much about a preseason touchdown not counting.
Nix had some really nice throws. On a third-and-9 he fired a pass with good velocity to Tim Patrick sitting down in the soft spot of zone coverage for a first down. Later in the drive he used his eyes to hold a safety, looking left and then coming back right with another strong pass to Courtland Sutton for a 23-yard gain. That was the type of advanced play that is made by a player who had an NCAA record 61 starts. Then Nix hit Patrick for a touchdown that counted, rolling right and finding him for a 2-yard score. Nix has been very impressive throwing on the move this preseason.
The Broncos took Nix out after that. They probably didn’t need to see any more. Nix hasn’t proven yet he is going to be a great NFL starter — the Packers didn’t play starters, and the game will speed up when the regular season arrives — but he has likely done enough in the preseason to win the starting job.
