Bo Nix

Sean Payton is very pleased with Bo Nix after the rookie quarterback led the Denver Broncos to a 33-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Payton praised Nix for not putting the offense in "harm's way" during this stretch of three wins in their last four games.

"When you watch him play, you don't feel like you're in harm's way," Payton said. "Again, he's tough to sack. He made a lot of plays with his feet. Man, he had some close, big-play opportunities, but there's a confidence as a play caller you get that allows you to be more aggressive. So we wanted to tonight and came out with that mindset."

Nix didn't have a perfect game against the Saints, and there were plenty of rookie moments to nitpick. He had a throw early in the first quarter that fell incomplete between two wide open receivers.

There were also two dropped interceptions by Saints defenders, including one that could have easily been returned for a touchdown.

Overall, though, Nix has found ways to make the offensive successful. One of the biggest things has been Payton taking advantage of his legs in the running game. The 24-year-old had a career-high 75 rushing yards on 10 carries against the Saints.

Nix's three rushing touchdowns are tied with Josh Allen for third among all quarterbacks. He's also fifth in rushing yards by a quarterback with 255.

If you want to go back to the nitpicks, Nix's yards per carry (5.4) is almost as high as his yards per pass attempt (5.6). But he also entered the game leading all rookie signal-callers with eight big-time throws.

After throwing four interceptions in his first two games, Nix has just one turnover in the past five games. He has yet to fumble the ball this season.

The Broncos have scored at least 26 points in three of their last five games. They only had three games with at least 26 points during the entire 2023 season.

Nix's ability to run Payton's offense combined with a defense that ranks third in the NFL in points allowed per game has made the Broncos (4-3) at least an interesting team to watch in an AFC that currently only has seven teams with a winning record.

In a game featuring two former Oregon quarterbacks, Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers defeated Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos, who made an impressive attempt at a comeback before ultimately losing 23-16 on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado.

With a commanding 20-0 lead at halftime, Herbert and the Chargers dominated Nix and the Broncos throughout the first two quarters. Denver's quarterback managed just 22 passing yards on 3 of 10 completions, with one interception by halftime.

The Broncos did not find their way onto the scoreboard until the 10:06 mark in the fourth quarter, when Nix connected with another former Oregon Duck, Troy Franklin, for his first touchdown of the season.

In an attempt to complete a comeback, the Broncos scored 16 straight points in the fourth quarter while holding the Chargers scoreless, but they were unable to get the job done as Nix finished the day, completing 19 of 33 passes for 216 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Herbert recorded a season-high in yards with 237, while completing 21 of 34 passes with one touchdown.

Following an impressive performance by Nix last Sunday in a 34-18 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, where he completed 19 of 27 passes for 206 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions, the 24-year-old rookie appears to have regressed to his early-season form.

Denver fans continue to be unimpressed with Nix, the former second runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and head coach Sean Payton as the Broncos fall to 3-3 on the season

Next Sunday, the Broncos will look for redemption as they take on the 2-4 New Orleans Saints on the road.

Bo Nix is apparently doing a good job of ingratiating himself to the Denver Broncos' coaching staff, including head coach Sean Payton.

Per The Athletic's Dianna Russini, Broncos coaches "loved" the heated sideline exchange between Nix and Payton in the third quarter of their 34-18 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 6.

Russini noted the situation stemmed from Payton calling a play that Nix changed, causing his coach to unload on him.

The play that Nix called should have resulted in a 45-yard touchdown on third-and-3 because Troy Franklin was wide open in the end zone, but Franklin was unable to corral the ball and the Broncos elected to punt on fourth down.

Both men had differing stories after the game about what was actually said on the sideline. Nix joked they both said they love each other. Payton tried to make a Ferris Bueller analogy that didn't totally land, but you applaud him for trying.

Nix followed up by using clips from Ferris Bueller's Day Off in his Instagram Stories as part of his recap of the game.

According to Russini, another coach in the AFC West praised the highlights that Nix included in the video because they were "primarily plays his teammates made, on both sides of the ball."

There didn't seem to be a lot of doubt about how invested Payton was in Nix as a prospect. After the Broncos used the No. 12 pick in the 2024 NFL draft on the Oregon quarterback, ESPN's Adam Schefter noted that Payton felt "as strongly" about Nix as a prospect as he did Patrick Mahomes during his draft year in 2017.

Nix is still learning on the job, but there have been signs of encouragement from his performance thus far. The victory over the Raiders marked his first game with multiple touchdown passes. He also completed a career-high 70.4 percent of his attempts in the win.

Denver has won three straight games following an 0-2 start. Nix will look to keep the positive momentum going on Sunday when the Broncos host the Los Angeles Chargers with the winner being in sole possession of second place in the AFC West.

Bo Nix had an elite response to his coach Sean Payton comparing him to the iconic movie character Ferris Bueller.

The Denver Broncos quarterback posted a Bueller-inspired video on Instagram with highlights from Sunday's win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

During Sunday's matchup, Nix and Payton had a heated exchange on the sideline. When the Denver coach was asked about the exchange, he likened his rookie quarterback to Bueller.

"There's still a little bit of Ferris Bueller in this player that we got to get rid of," Payton said. "I'm talking about Bo, and I love him to death. Sometimes it's my love language."

Unlike Bueller, though, it was no day off for Nix on Sunday. He had 206 passing yards and three total touchdowns as the Broncos crushed Las Vegas 34-18 to end an eight-game losing streak to their division rival.

The win marked three in a row for Denver after starting the year 0-2.

Sunday was Nix's best game of his young career and proved he's ready to turn things around after a rough start to the season. He threw four interceptions in his first two games but has not turned the ball over in the previous three games, proving to be a major difference in winning and losing.

Nix, the No. 12 overall pick in the NFL draft, will look to continue improving this week when the Broncos face the Los Angeles Chargers.