Denver Broncos fans cheered loudly as Bo Nix took the field for his first preseason start Sunday night.
Broncos fans want Nix to be the long-awaited answer to their quarterback woes. His performance Sunday night won’t dampen the excitement.
If the Broncos were leaning toward starting Nix in the season opener, and all indications are that they will, then Nix could soon be announced as QB1. The 12th overall pick in the NFL draft had a good showing against the Green Bay Packers, a good continuation of a strong performance in the preseason opener. It would be surprising at this point if Nix were not named the starter for the regular season opener.
The Broncos’ offense is evolving with Nix at quarterback. That was the case in the preseason opener and it was the case again Sunday night. Nix hasn’t had the spectacular passes of Caleb Williams this preseason, but he’s made the right decisions often and has seemed to have the rhythm Sean Payton likes in his quarterbacks.
Nix played until the second quarter on Sunday. He completed 8 of 9 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown for a solid 140.7 passer rating. After that, it wouldn’t make sense for the Broncos to start Jarrett Stidham in Nix’s place. However, we’ll wait for Payton’s official decision.
Nix’s stats could have been even better, but a nice play in the first quarter wasn’t officially counted. Near the goal line, he evaded pressure to his left but kept looking downfield. He found Javonte Williams in the end zone and threw him a pass for a touchdown. A replay review showed Nix was above the line of scrimmage when he threw the ball, nullifying the play. He’ll have to work on his perception of the game, but the play itself showed his creativity and skill. The Broncos will take that into account and not worry too much about a preseason touchdown not counting.
Nix made some great passes. On third-and-9, he threw a pass with good velocity to Tim Patrick sitting in the soft spot for a first down. Later in the drive, he used his eyes to hold off a safety, looking left and then back right with another powerful pass to Courtland Sutton for a 23-yard gain. It was the type of advanced play made by a player who had an NCAA record 61 starts. Then Nix hit Patrick for a touchdown that counted, rolling right and finding him for a 2-yard score. Nix has been very impressive throwing on the move this preseason.
The Broncos cut Nix after that. They probably didn’t need to see more. Nix hasn’t proven he’d be a big-time starter in the NFL yet — the Packers haven’t played any starters, and the game will speed up when the regular season rolls around — but he probably did enough in the preseason to earn the starting job.