The Denver Broncos are once again putting fans and the league on the edge of their seats, as they have perfected the art of the late-game comeback preceded by the early-game struggles of the offense. After a season and three games, many feel that the Broncos could just be lucky.
However, former NFL quarterback Eli Manning believes otherwise. Through his career, Manning had success in the form of two Super Bowls (and several iconic moments in clutch situations), as well as struggles when his teams weren't playing as well as they could.
In a recent interview with The Volume's Colin Cowherd, Manning gave some insight into Nix's heroics, and his struggles throughout games.
"The only thing I can think of is — as a quarterback — your two-minute plays,
they're plays you run in the fourth quarter, you're down a little bit, you're running the plays you've run the most," Manning said. "They are like Day 1 install; you're lining up fast, your receivers are playing fast, they know exactly what's going on. You're not shifting in motion and creating perfect plays. You're just running plays that are good against any defense.
"For (Nix), a guy who can run, someone's not open, he kind of knows it. It's one hitch, two hitch, 'All rright, that guy's not open, I gotta run.' It takes time for that young quarterback to understand the timing of all this, and when he should 'All right, take the checkdown.'"
You can see the full clip below.
.@EliManning drops QB knowledge to @colincowherd explaining why Bo Nix has so much success in 4th quarter compared to rest of the game pic.twitter.com/Yth49DvDC4
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) September 30, 2026
There you have it. The simple answer is, it takes time. In Year 3, Nix has already proven to be one of the top quarterbacks in his draft class, and is on the way to being seen as one of the best in the conference. In order for Nix to take the next step to that consideration, getting things to click earlier in a game will be the key to how this Broncos team can find success in the future.
"That’s the $6 million question, honestly, and I think that we’re trying to sort through this first quarter [slump],” Payton said after Week 3. "Obviously the moments aren’t too big and (Nix) moves and escapes and makes plays and it leads us to that first part of the jigsaw, which is, we have to find a way to play better earlier."
Offensive coordinator Davis Webb has to make a focus of Nix's improvement through the first 30-45 minutes of a game in order for the Broncos to truly be considered contenders, and be taken seriously for the weapons they have and the explosive possibilities that lie within the offense.
The Broncos get their next chance to get things going earlier against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in their Week 4 showdown by the Bay.
Social: Follow Broncos Wire on Facebook and Twitter/X!
This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Eli Manning chimes in on Bo Nix’s early struggles, late heroics: ‘It’s crazy’
