Before the Broncos even knew they’d be playing Buffalo in the AFC divisional round, Sean Payton decided to pull a play off the shelf and put it into Denver’s postseason plans.
During the team’s OTA-style practices on Jan. 9 and 10, Payton emphasized good-on-good work.
The No. 1 offense worked against the No. 1 defense. No contact, of course, but Payton and his staff put as much as possible into making the situations competitive.
During one of those practices, receiver Marvin Mims Jr. ran a double-move against reigning defensive player of the year Pat Surtain II and, as Payton tells it, roasted him.
“We just hadn’t called that play in a while and it looked so good in our joint practice, I was like, ‘Man, that’s got to go to the call sheet,’” Payton said Sunday morning after the Broncos beat Buffalo, 33-30 in overtime, to advance to the AFC Championship Game.
Part of the Broncos’ normal team meeting the night before a game is to go through what Payton calls the touchdown reel. It’s a compilation of the plays he thinks players have a chance to score on the next day.
Payton had a message for Mims.
“When we did our video the night before and I put the practice clip up, I said, ‘You’re beating the No. 1 corner in the world,’” Payton recalled. “‘I don’t care who they put over there in the game tomorrow. We’re running this play.’”
The moment arrived in the final 61 seconds of regulation.
Mims motioned from the right slot to outside on the left.
He closed the gap to Buffalo corner Dane Jackson, stuttered and took off up the field. Jackson did a fairly good job sticking with him, but Mims pulled away by just enough and left space to allow Nix to put the ball to his outside along the sideline.
The 26-yard touchdown put the Broncos momentarily in front with 55 seconds to go.
“There’s a few times I’ll say to the (coaches) in the booth, ‘guys, we can’t finish this game with me not having called that play,’” Payton said. “That was one of those plays. We cannot finish this game with me not having called that play.”
Josh Allen engineered a field goal drive in the final minute, then overtime brought more twists and turns. Different from many games this year, though, Mims was on the field for most of them.
Mims played 47 of Denver’s 72 offensive snaps, a 65% rate that checks in as the second-highest usage of his three-year career. Coincidentally, the most Mims had ever played was 69.3% of snaps in a 2023 Monday Night Football win at Buffalo.
Mims averaged 37% usage during the regular season and really only saw the uptick in work Saturday because rookie Pat Bryant (concussion) left the game after three plays and Troy Franklin played just 13 before injuring his hamstring early in the second quarter.
Mims took full advantage, catching all eight of his targets for 93 yards — his most since 103 and two touchdowns on Dec. 28, 2024 at Cincinnati — and also drew a game-sealing, 30-yard pass interference penalty in overtime that set up Wil Lutz’s walk-off field goal.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos returned from their bye refreshed, refocused and, at least in the case of kicker Wil Lutz, richer.
Lutz signed a three-year contract extension over the break, securing his role on the Broncos through 2028.
“First off, he’s earned it,” coach Sean Payton said Monday after the Broncos (9-2) reconvened to begin preparations for their trip to play the Washington Commanders (3-8) this weekend.
Terms of his extension haven’t been revealed. He’s earning $3.9 million this season.
Jack Dempsey/AP
Denver Broncos place kicker Wil Lutz (3) is congratulated by teammate Jarrett Stidham, right, after celebrates making a 35-yard field goal to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Payton said he huddled with general manager George Paton over the bye week and discussed several players’ futures in Denver.
“The key is not affecting the mojo or how your team’s doing, I’m always sensitive to that, especially when you’re playing well,” Payton said. “Because sometimes those can be difficult discussions.
“But we were able to get Wil done. There’s a couple other players that we’ve reached out to, and I think the key is the communication aspect of it all. But he’s played well, he’s consistent and I think he’s got the respect of the locker room. Like all kickers, there’s ups and downs, but he’s been a great addition for us.”
Lutz’s extension came at about the same time he earned AFC special teams player of the week honors after tying a career high by going 5-for-5 on field goal attempts in Denver’s 22-19 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The nine-year veteran has also been named AFC special teams player of the month twice during his time in Denver, in November 2023 and October of this season.
This season, Lutz has made 17 of 20 field goals (.850) and has converted on all 24 of his extra point opportunities for 75 points.
His 35-yarder as time expired against the Chiefs was his 13th game-winner of his career and third walk-off field goal this season. He also beat the Giants and Texans with field goals as time expired.
One of Payton’s first moves in Denver was acquiring Lutz from the Saints in 2023.
Payton cycled through 10 kickers in his first decade coaching in the NFL but aside from injuries, Lutz has been his kicker over Payton’s last eight seasons as head coach, five in New Orleans and three in Denver.
“I think it’s good to always be someone’s guy in this league,” Lutz said. “Sean and I have won a lot of games together. We’ve hit some big kicks together. I think it’s just understanding each other. He knows how to kind of get me in the right place. I know how to work under him.
“It’s just a trust thing, right? I’m just grateful, nine out of my 10 seasons have been with him and my one bad year wasn’t with him,” Lutz added. “So, I wouldn’t say that’s why, but yeah, we know how to work with each other and our success together has been fun.”
Notes: Payton declined to say whether CB Pat Surtain II (pectoral strain) or ILB Alex Singleton (testicular cancer surgery) would return to practice this week. … Payton said his top priorities down the stretch are cutting down on penalties and having a better takeaway/turnover margin.
In a game that could live for months in Denver sports memory, the Broncos outlasted the Chiefs 22-19 at Empower Field on Sunday to take pole position of the AFC West.
OFFENSE — B
It’s been a season of stop-and-go for Bo Nix and the offense. In a notable development Sunday, the problem was often not Nix — who’s been heavily criticized for his play the last two weeks — or head coach Sean Payton, who’s been heavily criticized for his play-calling the last two weeks. Wide receiver Troy Franklin had a couple of killer drops in the first half, and Nix was sacked twice on the opening drive.
Nix was in rhythm all game, though, in an encouraging sign for the second-year quarterback’s progress. He connected on two monster deep shots to Franklin and Pat Bryant in the second half, and Nix looked poised both hanging in the pocket and on the move en route to a 295-yard day. And in a final tour de force, Nix orchestrated his fifth game-winning drive of the season with a clutch 32-yard bomb to Franklin, the deep connection finally clicking as Payton’s unit made enough plays to close a monumental win.
DEFENSE — A-
Payton had so much deserved trust in defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s unit on Sunday that he declined one fourth-quarter holding penalty on the Chiefs to get to a third-and-9 — even though accepting the penalty would’ve set Kansas City back to second-and-19.
That said, playing Patrick Mahomes comes with several degrees of peril. And after a banner first half, Denver’s defense started to sag in the second half. Mahomes aired out a 61-yard bomb for Tyquan Thornton in the third quarter for the longest passing play of the year against Joseph’s unit, and leveraged a rough third-and-20 defensive pass-interference call on Riley Moss for an eventual score to take the lead. But Joseph hung tough, and the Broncos came up with a massive three-and-out stop on a late Chiefs drive to hand the ball back to Payton.
SPECIAL TEAMS — A+
A Darren Rizzi tour de force. Having Marvin Mims Jr. back after a two-game absence for a concussion certainly helped. The Broncos’ All-Pro returner whizzed for a 70-yard punt return in the first quarter to set up a field goal, and Denver’s kickoff and punt units soundly outplayed Kansas City in a key divisional matchup.
Kicker Wil Lutz went 5 of 5 on field goals and made the game-winner in another monumental day, and rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw got his mighty leg back underneath him with two punts. And in a coaching tour de force, offensive tackle Frank Crum came up with a monumental blocked extra point in the fourth quarter to hold the Chiefs’ lead to 19-16.
COACHING — A-
In a familiar script, Payton couldn’t get out of Payton’s own way early on, orchestrating a fantastic opening drive only to kill momentum with a flea-flicker call from RJ Harvey to Nix that nearly got picked off. And the Broncos’ offensive operation struggled enough that CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson reported on the game broadcast that Nix was begging Payton to get play-calls in quicker.
Interesting note here from Tracy Wolfson, who said Bo Nix was “begging” Sean Payton to get a third-down call in faster.
“The offensive line came off and said ‘We need to change the tempo.’”
Evidently, Payton was listening. Or something clicked. Because the Broncos started to play with tempo in the second half, as Nix started dealing on a third-quarter touchdown drive. The ultimate hat-tip here, of course, goes to Joseph, who continued to establish himself as one of the hottest head-coaching names in the business. Mahomes has now accounted for a grand total of three touchdowns in four matchups against Joseph in his second tenure in Denver, and Joseph dialed up one of the gutsiest calls of the Broncos’ season — a third-and-10 nickel blitz from Ja’Quan McMillian to sack Mahomes and stuff the Chiefs on their final offensive drive.
The Easter Bunny? Fuzzy-wuzzy fraud. The Tooth Fairy? Fake chews. But if a game is within 19 points at the start of the fourth quarter, just watch the Bo-ller Coaster go to work. Just watch him find a way.
“I think a really good issue to have is when you’re finding these ugly wins, because I don’t think it’ll always be like that,” the Broncos’ tow-headed quarterback said Sunday after rallying Denver to an 18-15 victory at Houston — a game he trailed 15-7 at the start of the fourth quarter.
“For right now, the ugly wins are how we’re doing it, so that’s just what we’re gonna continue to find ways to do. Now, obviously, we’ve got to improve in many different areas. But the ugly wins, they’re important. They’re important down the stretch. And if you can find them and you can win these one-possession games, it helps you in the future … you gotta learn how to win those.”
The Broncos are 5-2 in one-score games. They were 1-6 a year ago. Among Broncos quarterbacks, only John Elway and Peyton Manning have accounted for more fourth-quarter/overtime comebacks than Nix has in orange and blue. Seven rescues in 26 NFL starts. Tim Tebow, by the way, managed six.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
But fool me seven times?
You either got it. Or you don’t.
Bo’s got it.
“Nothing fazes him,” Broncos fullback Adam Prentice told me in the locker room after Denver’s sixth straight victory and second walk-off win in three weeks. “You think about the Giants game, we’re down a bunch (19-0 after three quarters), and (from him) it’s, ‘Hey, next play, let’s score and go to the next one.’ Which helps us in the huddle, and it keeps everybody even keel and just lets you focus on the job.
“It’s kind of the unspoken word. Like, we know we can do it, and we’re gonna do it. We’re gonna answer the call when we need to.”
Bo Nix (10) of the Denver Broncos throws deep against the Houston Texans during the second quarter at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
The stats were uglier than the scoreboard — 17 completions on 36 throws, 170 passing yards, two scores and an interception.
Context: The Texans rolled in with the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL for a reason. The 49ers managed 175 passing yards here last week. The Titans collected 93. Tampa Bay managed 191.
In Week 8, Nix scored 44 points against Dallas, the best offense in the NFL. In Week 9, he walked off the NFL’s best defense, a desperate bunch trying to avoid five losses, in its backyard.
Nix went into the fourth quarter having completed nine passes in 21 attempts for just 97 yards. Over the next 15 minutes, he made good on 9 of 16 attempts for 76 yards and a score, along with three rushes for 36 yards. His 25-yard scramble to daylight set up Wil Lutz’s game-winning kick.
“Describe Bo today in a word,” I asked Prentice.
He tilted his head for a second.
“Competitor,” Prentice replied.
“Why?” I wondered.
“Because, regardless of the situation, he’s going to come out and make plays and compete,” the Broncos fullback continued. “Like I was saying with the Giants game, it doesn’t matter what situation we’re in, he’s going to go out there and sling it or run it or hand it to the backs, do whatever he’s got to do. And we’re going to go make a play. It just doesn’t matter. We’re going to go out there and execute.”
Eventually. Yes, beating Houston backup QB Davis Mills on the road has a different aftertaste than beating C.J. Stroud, who left early with a concussion.
Yes, Nix needs to run more. Selectively. Wisely. On at least two fourth-quarter throws, No. 10 elected to stay in the pocket, step up and force the ball downfield instead of tucking and running. Both throws were fired long.
“Listen, don’t talk about that,” Broncos coach Sean Payton countered when I asked about Nix chucking when he should be tucking. “In other words, his eyes are within the progression.
“You don’t tell that player too much when it comes to something like that, you know what I mean? Like, ‘Do you inhale or exhale when you’re backswinging (in golf)?’ I don’t want anyone asking me that question, all right?
“But I think there are certainly designed runs you saw. Again, we gotta keep working with his clock, because it gets quick. There’s someone open, and there’s some throws he’s gonna want to correct. But that’s a good problem to have.”
Head coach Sean Payton locks into the action during the third quarter of the Broncos’ 18-15 win over the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Meanwhile, if you’re going to accuse the Broncos of head-hunting because of Payton’s history, put the tin foil hat away. Kris Abrams-Draine’s hit on Stroud was legal, if a tad late. Watch it again: The Broncos cornerback was making a point, at full speed, to strike well below Stroud’s head. The concussion was from the QB’s noggin hitting the turf on a late slide, not from Abrams-Draine attempting to decapitate the guy. Game of inches, kids. Game of inches.
“Winning’s fun,” Prentice said. “It’s contagious. When you want to keep doing it, it’s contagious. You just want to keep getting after it and keep getting those wins and stacking them. But yeah, it’s a lot of fun.”
Less fun: Payton’s run-pass balance. Or continual lack thereof. The Broncos rushed on three of their opening four plays. Payton handed off just four times over the next 24. J.K. Dobbins had 24 rushing yards on his initial four touches. He didn’t see the rock again until the first play of the second half — a 9-yard rush.
You tell us, Coach.
“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Payton said. “I like to win.”
Like the man said: It’s contagious.
“No one wants to let anyone down,” Payton stressed. “That’s a good thing.”
The best thing, really.
“What’s our record?” Sunshine Sean asked the media rhetorically. “I lost track.”
“Seven and two,” the scribes said in unison, as if in a classroom.
“That’s right,” Payton said, back in teacher mode. “That’s how I see it. Pretty good.”
Sure is. Seven comebacks in a year-and-a-half? Nobody’s that lucky. When it comes to the Bo-ller Coaster, buckle up. Just don’t forget to enjoy the ride.
May the Fourth be with you
For the fourth time in the last five games, the Denver Broncos rallied to win a game they trailed entering the fourth quarter. One of the central reasons for that: Bo Nix’s ability to elevate his play with the game on the line in the final 15 minutes. Here is a look at the second-year Broncos quarterback’s production by quarter this season, with Sunday’s numbers against the Texans in parentheses:
The Broncos put together an unbeaten October, and their kicker was a big part of the reason why.
Wil Lutz, who knocked home a walk-off 39-yard field goal to cap a wild comeback win against the New York Giants and didn’t miss a kick over Denver’s 4-0 October, was named the AFC special teams player of the month Thursday.
Lutz made all six of his field goal attempts and nine extra points over a perfect October. That run included several big kicks. Not only did he make the walk-off against the Giants, but he was the only kicker in the AFC to hit two field goals from 55 or more yards in the month, knocking home a 55-yarder against Philadelphia and then a 57-yarder (his longest as a Bronco) the next week against the New York Jets in London.
Lutz had little room for error most of the month. The Broncos’ first three victories came by three, one and one point, respectively, and each required a fourth-quarter comeback.
The value of consistent kicking was never higher than against the Giants, when Lutz made all three of his kicks and New York’s kicker missed a pair of extra points.
Lutz also won the monthly award in November last year and became the second player in franchise history to take home the award twice, joining former kicker Matt Prater.
Harvey rookie of the week: Broncos rookie running back RJ Harvey was named the NFL’s rookie of the week for Week 8.
Harvey scored three touchdowns in just eight offensive touches Sunday in a 44-24 win against the Cowboys. The second-round pick out of UCF opened Denver’s scoring with a 40-yard touchdown run and later added a 1-yard plunge on a direct snap and a 5-yard reception in the fourth quarter.
Harvey has 315 total yards of offense (200 rushing yards) on the season and five total touchdowns (three receiving).
The NFL isn’t budging on its stance to suspend a key member of the Broncos’ defense.
On Tuesday night, NFL spokesman Michael Signora announced that the league upheld its one-game suspension of Dre Greenlaw, a day after multiple sources told The Denver Post that Greenlaw would appeal the suspension.
The Broncos will now be down their starting weak-side linebacker for Week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys in Denver on Sunday after Greenlaw made his season debut in Week 7.
“After the conclusion of the Giants-Broncos game, Greenlaw chased after referee Brad Allen and verbally threatened him as he tried to leave the field,” the NFL said in a statement.
Denver will now likely turn back to Strnad for his seventh start of the season at inside linebacker, after Greenlaw racked up six tackles in 21 snaps in his return from a quad injury.
Here in Naptown, a poster with Colts players adorns the J.W. Marriott, paying tribute to late team owner Jim Irsay. It reads: For the Boss. For the City. For the Shoe.
The Broncos were dealt their first loss of the season in their first road game of the season in a way that, as far as the internet can tell, was a first.
In four weeks, if your friends ask you how the Broncos’ special season became ordinary, the story starts here. When they ask you at the office Christmas party why they have to win out against Kansas City and the Chargers to make the playoffs, remind them of the Colts.
The Broncos put themselves in a dangerous position with upcoming cage matches against the Chargers, Bengals and Eagles by squandering a game the Colts were begging for them to win. Or at least coach Shane Steichen was as he performed his best Nathaniel Hackett Clueless in Seattle impersonation.
When writing the Broncos’ history since Super Bowl 50, what unfolded before our wide eyes demands an entry. Let’s start at the end and work backward.
Leading 28-26, the Broncos took possession at their 35-yard line with 8:29 remaining. On an afternoon when the offense finally awoke from its summer hibernation, this represented a chance for a statement drive in a benchmark game. Siphon the clock. Kick a short field goal, and let the beleaguered defense leave with its dignity with a clinching sack of Daniel Jones.
It set up according to script. Until it didn’t. The Broncos were MacGyver, poised for the dramatic ending, and suddenly forgot the difference between the blue and red wires. They made a series of mistakes that had coach Sean Payton shaking his head and admitting, “It is going to be painful to watch this film.”
Payton prides himself on building a roster full of smart, disciplined and competitive players. They got the competitive part right against the Colts.
The unraveling began with running back J.K. Dobbins. He burst up the middle for 23 yards, placing the Broncos at the 20 for a chip shot from Wil Lutz. But Dobbins slammed the ball to the turf in celebration not once, but twice. He was called for delay of game, costing five yards and undermining momentum.
“They just said I can’t do that. I didn’t know I couldn’t. I have always done it,” said Dobbins, who finished with 76 yards on 14 carries. “I don’t know — I’ve just got to keep my composure and not do that.”
His excess celebration would have been forgotten, except tight end Adam Trautman, who is clearly getting more snaps than Evan Engram, committed a face mask penalty, his hands smushing the face of the defender on a block. The 20 became a memory. The Broncos were pushed back to 40 and needed a 15-yard tunnel screen to Troy Franklin to claw back into field goal range.
OK, Lutz, erase two foolish penalties with one good kick. Uh-oh. Lutz knew off his foot that the 42-yarder was in trouble. It sliced hard right like every duffer’s tee shot and doinked off the upright.
Indianapolis Colts place kicker Spencer Shrader (3) kicks the game-winning field goal against the Denver Broncos, winning 29-28 in the fourth quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. Indianapolis Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez (8) holds for Shrader, Denver Broncos cornerback Riley Moss (21) tries to block it. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Even then, the Broncos had one last chance. They were Dumb, but Steichen was Dumber.
The Broncos’ vaunted defense should not have had to rely on help, but it couldn’t get a stop. After the two-minute warning. Payton called three timeouts on three consecutive plays, a strategy that made sense if Denver was able to get off the field. When the Colts converted on third-and-6, as Pat Surtain II was unable to deflect the ball from Alec Pierce, the Broncos deserved to lose.
Pick a reason. The missed assignments on coverage against tight end Tyler Warren and running back Jonathan Taylor. Bo Nix, who otherwise played well, “missing” on an unnecessary pass over the head of Courtland Sutton on an interception with the Broncos in field goal range early in the fourth quarter.
Denver Broncos cornerback Riley Moss (21) walks past the Indianapolis Colts football team after losing 29-28 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)It should have been over. But Steichen wouldn’t let them surrender.
He ran Taylor into the line for one yard on three plays as the clock ticked, setting up a 60-yard field goal. It was the return of Hackett. Pure idiocy.
Steichen said he wanted to leave no time for the Broncos to get a kickoff return. OK. But to set up a monster boot for Spencer Shrader, who had never even attempted a 50-yarder as he bounced from three different teams over the last two seasons?
You all know what happened next. Snap. Short kick. Broncos celebrate and find out they were playing the role of a human Whoopee cushion. The officials announced a 15-yard leverage penalty on defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike. After the game, it was assigned to Tillman. Replays showed Uwazurike had a hand on the long snapper, and Tillman knifed in for the block. This call has been made roughly three times a season over the last 15 years.
By letter of the law, it was a foul, even though Rizzi, the special teams coordinator, told players afterward he did not see the penalty. Uwazurike and Tillman were genuinely surprised that it was called, wondering what they had done wrong. Did the Broncos get hosed? Probably. Was the play unnecessary? Absolutely.
When your friends ask you when the offseason bravado became hollow, bring up Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium and an ending that was just plain dumb.
They went one by one at the Broncos captains’ dinner on Monday, veterans of this league who have climbed the mountaintop and know the footing the trek requires. Wil Lutz. Talanoa Hufanga. D.J. Jones. Each gave their speech. Each bared their hearts.
Last of all came Bo Nix, the 25-year-old anointed one who’s never met anyone who expects more of him than he expects of himself.
He spoke and set a bar for a group of men who respected him enough to not only listen to his words but feel them. John Franklin-Myers and Marvin Mims Jr. recounted his words separately in the days to come.
“We have this team that’s been put together. Each one of us are hand-picked,” Franklin-Myers recalled Nix saying. “But our goal should be to go out there and win every game.”
There are three kinds of teams in this league, Nix continued, as Mims remembered. The team that wants to go out and simply compete. The team that wants to go out and win. And the team that wants to go out and dominate.
These Broncos, Nix emphasized, needed to be the team that dominates.
“Shoot, something like that is powerful from a quarterback, a younger guy,” Franklin-Myers said Friday. “And you see that type of fire from him, and it kinda gets you going.”
Nix did not dominate in Sunday afternoon’s win over Tennessee, his first start since a rookie campaign that cratered and then skyrocketed. Far from it. He threw a bad cross-body interception in the first quarter on a ball that sailed to Courtland Sutton. He threw a worse one in the third quarter on a ball to a double-covered Troy Franklin that had no business even being thrown. He ran directly into a strip-sack in the second quarter for the first lost fumble he’s had since he played at Auburn. He finished 25-of-40 passing for 176 yards, a touchdown, and a passer rating of 60, the third-worst game of his NFL career.
And still, new safety Hufanga came strolling to a podium postgame wearing a beaming smile and a grey T-shirt that had a giant decal of Nix.
“I got a lot of confidence,” Hufanga said. “I wouldn’t be wearing this shirt if I didn’t have confidence in my guy. He’s a Christian man that just goes out there and leads us.
“So, regardless of what kind of day he has, I know I got his back, and he got mine.”
It was a “really ugly game,” as Mims put it. And perhaps the ugliest Broncos performance of all Sunday came from Nix. He made a few plays early as the pocket collapsed and fired a late-first-half seed to Sutton for a touchdown. He also could’ve easily thrown two more picks.
The body language was bad. Nix clapped at Tyler Badie after the back didn’t turn around for one third-down ball in the first half, and slouched after a missed connection with Lucas Krull on another third down. He yelled at nobody in particular as he went to the bench after his second pick.
The barks at teammates, though, weren’t anything “too out there,” as Mims put it. At the captains’ dinner and throughout 2024, Nix earned the credibility in his locker room to struggle. To be frustrated. To still be supported through it. And Mims knew most of Nix’s frustration was with himself.
“At the end of the day, like, we gotta be better for him, too,” Mims said. “And just kinda bailing him out sometimes. He has a lot on his plate.”
Indeed, Denver’s receivers didn’t separate deep consistently against Tennessee’s secondary, and their offensive line collapsed too easily.
But Nix still took a few too many reckless shots in an effort to linger in the pocket — after a little “first-read” jab this week from the Titans’ Jeffrey Simmons — and chided himself for it postgame. The Broncos’ defense swooped to the rescue Sunday, but Nix can’t afford to put them in “bad spots,” he affirmed.
Through all this, the Broncos still won, as Payton noted when asked to evaluate Nix. It was a “gutsy performance,” Payton said.
The head coach also scoffed at any notion of evaluating year-over-year growth for Nix.
“We’re not going to have a Growth Meter each week in Year Two, all right?” Payton retorted. “He’s in his second year. I love the player, all right. I get a chance to see him every day, all right. He can be a huge reason why we win games. And so, we’re not going to have that weekly meter.”
It was an external message that Nix is beyond any sort of young-quarterback evaluation, and beyond any sort of light-a-spark public prodding. That, Payton knows, isn’t needed.
