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Sep 21, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) throws a pass in the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

3 Bo Nix Issues Broncos Must Fix Before it's Too Late

Originally posted on Denver Broncos on SI
By Erick Trickel | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 5:02 PM ET

The Denver Broncos will only go as far as Bo Nix will take them. After the Broncos' disappointing offensive start to the season, Nix hasn't been the only problem.

Still, there have been a trio of significant issues that have hindered Nix and the Broncos' offense in the first three games.

First, it's Not About the Pressure

Some will want to point to the pass protection for Nix, which is part of the issue, but the Broncos are tied for the third-fewest pressures allowed at 26, as well as the third-lowest pressure percentage allowed at 24.3%, with some of those pressures being on Nix himself. The Broncos have the second-fewest sacks through three weeks. The pressure hasn’t been bad enough to absolve Nix of blame for bad decisions.

The most damning Nix issue that's holding this offense back is his struggle in operating a true drop-back passing game, where he sits in the pocket and goes through all his reads. This is impacting play-calling, play sequencing, and missed opportunities for the offense.

This was an issue dating back to last season, when Nix missed open receivers because he wouldn't read the whole field. The reason I started by talking about pressure is that it can force quarterbacks to accelerate their process and not read the whole field. But that hasn’t been happening enough to excuse Nix.

That is especially true when you go back and watch a good portion of these missed opportunities where Nix had the time to make a whole field read, or even looked at his receiver, and passed up on the throw to scramble when pressure wasn’t close enough to impact the throw or force him to scramble. There were approximately six plays against the Los Angeles Chargers alone where this issue arose.

1. Removing the Screens

The impact on play-calling is leading to the third-highest percentage of screen plays called for Nix at 16.8%. We can dismiss the arbitrary grades of outlets like Pro Football Focus, but we're not talking about grades today, but rather, metrics. These advanced metrics measure whatever statistical output is being produced, so don't make the mistake of dismissing what I'm about to drop here.

Bo Nix: Screen Merchant

• 16.8% of dropbacks have been screens (3rd-most)
• 5.6 YPA w/o screens (6th-lowest)
• 5:3 TD:INT
• 40.9 PFF Grade w/o screens (last)
• 41.3 Pass Grade (last)
• 6.1 Turnover Worthy Play% w/o screens (7th-highest)
• 66.2 Adj Comp% w/o screens (last) pic.twitter.com/SAVOH0qQxG
— Tyler Weiss (@TylerMWeiss_) September 22, 2025

While Nix is a bottom-10 quarterback in most statistical categories currently, the situation worsens further when you remove the screens, which we will do here simply to highlight his issues in a true drop-back passing game.

Without screens, Nix is averaging 5.6 yards per attempt, which is the sixth-lowest, with a 5-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio, a 6.1% turnover-worthy play (seventh-highest), and a 66.2 adjusted completion percentage (dead last). The Broncos might be using screens to conceal many of Nix’s faults.

2. Poor Poise Under Pressure

Another issue with Nix is his poor performance under pressure, which was one of his weaknesses as a rookie and continues to be a problem this season. Despite having the third-lowest pressure percentage, Nix ranks 17th in average time to throw under pressure, with the eighth-lowest EPA, and the second-lowest completion percentage over expected ( negative 13.3%), indicating he's completing fewer passes than he should.

Additionally, Nix has no tight-window throws under pressure, while also having the lowest percentage of tight-window throws with or without pressure. Furthermore, his 2.7 yards per attempt is the weakest by nearly a yard compared to the second-lowest. Finally, his 8.3 quarterback rating is the lowest, with the second-lowest being 23.8.

With two interceptions, 54 yards, and no touchdowns, Nix has been the worst quarterback in the NFL under pressure, despite facing it at one of the lowest rates in the NFL. This is an area that has been an issue for Nix since college, and no team is going to allow zero pressure on their quarterback for a game, let alone 17 of them, meaning Nix and the Broncos coaches have to figure this out.

3. Ball Placement

Now, the final issue leads to numerous other issues and is particularly highlighted by Nix’s ball placement issues throughout the three games. He has to reset his feet more consistently when making throws. This is understandable when there's pressure, but it's also frequent even when there is none.

Nix ranks dead-last in the NFL in adjusted completion percentage on catchable throws, still excluding screens and throws to receivers deemed wide open. He ranks 28th out of the 28 qualifying quarterbacks at 66.2%, via Fantasy Points Data.

The player ahead of Nix is Chicago's Caleb Williams at 72.6%. Accuracy starts with the feet, so when a quarterback's feet aren’t set, he will struggle to make accurate throws.

Most Accurate QBs by Catchable Throw Rate
+ minus screens and throws to wide open receivers

1. Jalen Hurts (91.0%)
2. Dak Prescott (86.1%)
3. Daniel Jones (84.6%)
4. Drake Maye (84.3%)
...
27. Caleb Williams (72.6%)
Worst / 28. Bo Nix (66.2%) https://t.co/zaYskfYuiO
— Fantasy Points Data (@FantasyPtsData) September 22, 2025

This is an issue even on some routes that Nix excelled at as a rookie, and it severely limits the potential for yards after the catch. One play that highlights this is the flea-flicker missed deep shot to Marvin Mims Jr. vs. the Los Angeles Chargers, where there was pressure to get Nix to move, but not enough to where he couldn’t reset his feet.

Instead of resetting, Nix climbs into the back of Luke Wattenberg and fires off the pass with no set base or footwork. Before shrugging this off onto Wattenberg, the center did a great job on this play of stalling the push up the middle. It's on Nix for having to throw off Wattenberg's back, essentially.

The Takeaway

There are a plethora of plays that highlight all of these issues through the first three games of this season, and some of them date back to college and his rookie year. That doesn’t mean Nix can’t still correct them and be a great quarterback.

However, these are concerning enough that, if Nix doesn't get back on track, not only will the Broncos' season be at risk, but potentially even his career as a starter. Do not mistake this for me saying that Nix shouldn't start, or that he's a bust, or even that he's in a sophomore slump. They're fixable, but the Broncos have to start on rectifying them now.

The good news is, there's still time before these bad habits are fully ingrained in Nix. The Broncos' upcoming Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals presents a great opportunity for Nix, head coach Sean Payton, and quarterbacks coach Davis Webb to take a step back and focus on the fundamentals, allowing the second-year quarterback to improve these three aspects of his game. Make use of that extra day of preparation, and get Nix back on track.