Broncos’ head coach Sean Payton seemed ready for the inevitable question about whether second-year QB Bo Nix had made any improvement from his rookie season given that his performance on Sunday was a little rusty.
“Here’s the thing, though, and I appreciate the question, but we’re not going to have a growth meter each week in Year 2,” Payton said in defense of Nix. “He’s in his second year. I love the player. I get a chance to see him every day. He can be a huge reason why we win games, and so we’re not going to have that
weekly meter. That’s the first refused growth meter in Week 1. I mean, that’s crazy.”
I love the player. I get a chance to see him every day. He can be a huge reason why we win games, and so we’re not going to have that weekly meter.
– Sean Payton
So take note, Broncos Country. Nix is doing just fine and his head coach has full confidence he’s got the goods to take this team where it needs and wants to go.
For one thing, he led the team to a win despite some rough patches on offense.
“Well we won, that’s the first thing. I thought he hung in there. He battled. Made some critical plays first in the second half, and so obviously he’ll be disappointed with the turnovers, but it was a gutsy performance,” Payton said. “Overall, his job is to lead us to score. I thought he played really well in the second half, and we won the game.”
So there. Discussion over.
But Nix added his perspective too, disagreeing that the offense was “out of sync.”
“I know we didn’t get points, but I don’t necessarily say it was out of sync,” he said after the game. “The first drive we go down the field, and then that penalty got us back behind the chains. [We] had to settle for a field goal. The first drive goes down like that and gets points, I don’t think that’s out of sync.”
Nix was certainly among the many to be thrilled with the defense’s performance, which no doubt made it possible to win by having four turnovers and only scoring 20 points.
“It’s the best feeling when you have a great defense. Just over and over, they kind of got us out of a jam and continued to do that throughout the game,” he said. “The one that really sticks out is they get the ball down one, and we get two sacks and get them out of field goal range. That’ll change the game in a hurry, and it changes the environment, gets guys back into the game. It was just awesome to see different players making big plays.”
And that defense made so many big plays. Six sacks from six different players, a fumble recovery from rookie Jahdae Barron, key tackles for a loss all day long, and Talanoa Hufanga absolutely dominating the field.
In fact, Hufanga was one of several defensive players to defend the QB in the press room.
“It’s a team sport, so that’s the cool thing,” the new Bronco linebacker who led the team with seven solo tackles and three combined. “Regardless of the outcome, whether he throws interceptions, we have to do our part defensively. We have to step up too. I have a lot of confidence in Bo. I wouldn’t be wearing this shirt if I didn’t have confidence in my guy. He’s a devout Christian man that goes out there and leads us. Regardless of what type of day he has, I know that I have his back and he has mine.”
And 2024’s Defensive Player of the Year reiterated the most important stat of the day – a check in the W column.
“It is always important, getting the win is all that matters,” said Pat Surtain. “No matter how it looks, no matter how it may seem ugly, it may seem great, but a win is a win, no matter what. …We got a long season ahead of us. I’m very optimistic on what this team could be.”
