Bo Nix is facing scrutiny over his passing production, and with the team trying to find its rhythm, attention has turned to how much patience head coach Sean Payton is prepared to show.
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Payton made his position clear on Monday: he has not considered replacing Nix as Denver’s starting quarterback. When Denver reporter Rachel Vigil asked whether he had thought about a change, the coach answered,
“I said this a week ago; to answer your question, no.”
Payton also later pointed to the wider offensive issues when explaining why he believes Nix can improve without a change at quarterback.
“He’s going to become the byproduct of all the finer things that get improved: the improved play from our offensive line, the more efficient we are relative to balance, running the football, and that’s our job as coaches here,” Payton said.
The biggest concern for the team is that Nix has yet to deliver the passing production Denver needs from him. Through six games, he has completed just 60.3% of his attempts and averaged 5.6 yards per attempt, both career lows. He has thrown six touchdowns against three interceptions and failed to reach 200 passing yards in four games. Thursday’s matchup with the Seattle Seahawks was another tough outing, as Nix finished with just 107 passing yards in Denver’s 17-14 overtime win.
The Broncos finished with just 168 total yards, while their defense forced three turnovers to keep them in the game. One of those came in overtime, setting up Wil Lutz for the 53-yard field goal that sealed a 17-14 win. Denver is now 4-2, but the offense did little to ease the concerns about Nix’s passing game.
Payton has also taken responsibility for helping Nix find more opportunities downfield. After the game, the coach acknowledged that Denver needed to create chances for explosive plays, rather than expecting the quarterback to solve the problem alone.
After Denver’s Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Payton decided to reclaim play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Davis Webb. He announced the change on October 8 and resumed calling plays in the Broncos’ Week 5 win over the Chargers, adding another layer of scrutiny to the offense’s progress.
The questions surrounding Nix are not limited to his passing production. He broke his right ankle during Denver’s playoff run last season and underwent surgery in January, followed by a cleanup procedure in April. Asked whether the recovery had become a mental hurdle, Payton backed Nix’s ability.
“That’s one of the things that attracted us to Bo in the beginning is we’ve seen his ability to climb through adversity—all of ours. It’s not just Bo that feels that. Right now offensively, I feel that. Our players feel that. And we’ll improve,” Payton said, via Broncos reporter Zac Stevens.
Nix’s own response after the Seahawks win was to focus on the result and the work ahead.
“You’re just excited about the win,” Nix said. “That’s the most important. Then, this week we’ll figure out those ways to get better again. Just excited for our team right now to go through that six-game stretch and come out 4-2.”
Payton has made one thing clear: Nix is not losing his job because of a rough stretch. But with Denver’s offense still searching for answers, another narrow win will not make the questions disappear. For now, Payton is standing by his decision. The next game will show whether the Broncos can turn that confidence into something more convincing than another narrow escape.