ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — In 1983, the Denver Broncos went on the road to Seattle and lost a wild-card playoff game 31-7. There was a rookie quarterback named John Elway who played that day.
Things worked out pretty well for the future Hall of Famer and two-time Super Bowl winner.
Bo Nix, one of Denver's most trumpeted rookie QBs since the Elway days, has written the first chapter of what he hopes is a similar book, right down to losing his first playoff game by the same score ( 31-7 to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills ).
It's been a season for Nix filled with growing pains (two straight losses to start his tenure), lessons learned (a sideline spat with coach Sean Payton), bumps (four games with two or more interceptions) and bruises (playing through a spinal fracture). Through it all, he turned in quite an inaugural campaign in leading the Broncos to their first postseason appearance in nine seasons.
Now, some rest. It's basically an order from guard Quinn Meinerz.
“That’s what he needs right now,” Meinerz said. “To get some time off to reset a little bit because the next season will be here quickly."
Not too much down time, though, because Nix said there’s plenty to do to take the next step and avoid any sort of sophomore slump. He was the sixth quarterback taken in the NFL draft and one of two rookie QBs — Washington’s Jayden Daniels, the second overall pick, being the other — to lead their teams to the playoffs.
One of Nix's top priorities is figuring out ways to keep the offense on the field longer.
In the playoff loss at Buffalo, Allen's ball-control offense kept Nix on the sideline. The Bills had the ball for nearly 42 minutes thanks to converting 8 of 15 third-down situations, while the Broncos had it for just over 18 minutes (2 of 9 on third downs).
“There’s going to be a lot of the self-scouting I do this offseason,” said Nix, the University of Oregon product who also played at Auburn.
Nix's dynamic season was one for the franchise's record books. His 3,775 yards passing and 29 TDs are the most by a Broncos rookie, surpassing marks held by Mickey Slaughter (1,689 yards in 1963) and Marlin Briscoe (14 passing TDs in 1968).
What's more, Nix’s 10 wins were the most by a Broncos team starting a rookie at quarterback, eclipsing the mark of four from Elway (1983) and Drew Lock (2019). Jay Cutler, another promising Broncos rookie QB, went 2-3 after taking over for Jake Plummer in 2006. Elway got the Broncos to the Super Bowl in his fourth season. He would play in five Super Bowls (winning after the 1997 and '98 seasons).
For a change, the Broncos enter the offseason not fretting — or searching — for a signal caller. They’ve tried everyone from Trevor Siemian to Paxton Lynch to Russell Wilson under center since Peyton Manning led the Broncos to their last playoff win in Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.
At long last, it looks like they may have found a long-term solution.
“The improvement from (Nix) going forward," tackle Mike McGlinchey said, "is just going to be exponential.”
Nix, who turns 25 in February, certainly demonstrated his durability. He revealed Monday he played through a transverse process fracture of the lumbar spine. He got hurt against the Raiders on Nov. 24, then led the Broncos past the Browns in a shootout a week later.
“I wasn’t going to miss my first Monday night game,” Nix said. "I got treatment on it, and then we were fortunate to have an off week that next week. It kind of went away after that. It was annoying, but we all play with annoying.”
That made an impression.
“He never flinched all year, whether it was playing in his first game or playing injured,” Meinerz said. “That shows his toughness.”
This made an impression, too: standing up to Payton. There was a spat between the two when the Broncos’ offense retreated to the sideline in a win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 6. Payton said Nix flipped the play call and he wasn’t happy about it. When Nix came off the field, Payton yelled at him — and Nix hollered right back.
That only seemed to deepen their QB-coach bond, with Payton "quick to have my back at all times,” Nix said.
“That’s one of the most impressive things about him," Nix added. "A lot of things, rookie this and that, things that happened this year, he never threw me under the bus. That support and having a coach that has your back and encourages me like that means a lot.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Pat Graham, The Associated Press
