The Denver Broncos’ offense struggled in Week 10 vs. the Las Vegas Raiders on “Thursday Night Football.” Talking heads have been microanalyzing the Broncos’ offense ever since. That said, we won’t know what quarterback Bo Nix is until after the final seven games of the season. One NFL analyst, though, is not sweating Nix’s recent struggles.
Broncos’ Bo Nix Gets Endorsement From NFL Analyst
NFL.com’s Jeffri Chadiha released his weekly in-season column on Monday. In it, he downplayed Nix’s struggles as overreactions.
He said, “As bad as Bo Nix was against the Raiders — he was 16-for-28 for 150 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions — he at least knows how to be a clutch performer. The Broncos have four fourth-quarter comebacks this season because Nix has been able to shake off his struggles and deliver in critical moments. That stuff still matters, even when the overall effort looks ugly.”
Chadiha added that it also helps that Denver has other ways to win, strengthening the argument that the Broncos don’t need Nix to be a franchise quarterback. At least not on his rookie contract. In other words, give Nix more time to develop before deciding his fate.
Yes, the Broncos gained just 220 yards against the Raiders while converting only five of 15 third-down attempts, resulting in two turnovers. But Nix is still in his developmental stages.
That said, because Nix is on a cost-effective rookie contract, the Broncos can stack the roster around him. Nix just needs to be a game manager. That was a high floor for Nix to have as a rookie, propelling the Broncos to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-2016 Super Bowl-winning season.
It remains to be seen if that’s all Nix had to offer or if the last two games specifically have been growing pains. Either way, Chadiha is in on the Broncos.
He added, “The defense is on a record pace with 46 sacks through 10 games. The running back duo of J.K. Dobbins and rookie RJ Harvey also has become a solid tandem (although Dobbins sustained a foot injury late in that Raiders win). The success of this team basically doesn’t rest entirely on Nix being able to outplay (Patrick) Mahomes, (Josh) Allen or (Lamar) Jackson.”
For a visual, imagine Derek Carr. He went 12-3 in Year 3 with the addition of Amari Cooper, who was in Year 2 and made the playoffs. Carr went 10-7 in 2021 as well and made the playoffs without Cooper. The point is, adding another No. 1 wide receiver to the Broncos’ offense can propel Nix in Year 3 like it did with Carr.