Jensen's Judgment: Bench Bo Nix? Don't Make Me Laugh

The Broncos went eight long years without making the playoffs after winning the Super Bowl, which was an NFL first. One quarterback after another — from first-round picks to high-dollar free agents to big-name trade acquisitions — went through the carousel in Denver over that time period.

This team couldn't get the quarterback or head coach right. Then the Broncos made the fateful decision to hire Sean Payton, acquiring his coaching rights from the New Orleans Saints after the 2022 season.

Payton began to put things in order, but even he couldn't much out of Russell Wilson. After Payton benched him, the Broncos released him in the spring of 2024 with a then-NFL-record $85 million dead-money hit to the salary cap.

From there, Payton scouted the 2024 draft class, and identified Nix as his guy. The Broncos drafted Nix with the No. 12 overall pick in the first round, and he would go on to vanquish Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson in a training competition to become the first rookie quarterback to be the day-one starter since John Elway in 1983 — a harbinger of things to come.

A New Era

Nix's rookie year was ugly at times, especially early on, and while he bumped his head along the way, he soon had the Broncos on the winning track. He almost beat the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, and later actually pulled it off at home, and would go on to win 10 games as a rookie starter.

The Broncos qualified for the playoffs, snapping their near decade-long drought. The upstart Broncos were quickly bounced in the wildcard round by the Buffalo Bills, but the floodgates had opened.

Nix ended his rookie season injured, playing with fractured vertebrae in his back for the entire stretch run. Finishing as a Pro Bowl alternate, he was actually invited to the Games, but declined, deciding instead to undergo a "minor" procedure on an undisclosed body part unrelated to the transverse process fractures in his back.

Nix was healthy and good to go in time to kick off OTAs, and the Broncos hit the 2025 season. If you recall, the Broncos won their season opener last year in ugly fashion, then lost two straight on the road.

Sitting at 1-2 for the second straight season, it wasn't looking good. But then Nix found his groove with a big win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4, and the Broncos went on an 11-game winning streak.

Along the way, the Broncos knocked off the defending World Champion Philadelphia Eagles on the road, vanquished the Houston Texans and their fearsome defense on the road, beat a desparate Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs team at Mile High, and steamrolled the Green Bay Packers at home as underdogs.

Nix won 14 games in Year 2, dethroned the Chiefs in the AFC West, and helped the Broncos secure the No. 1 playoff seed. But he wasn't done.

That was supposed to be Josh Allen's year when the playoffs rolled around. With no Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, or Joe Burrow, Allen and the Buffalo Bills were supposed to romp all over the Broncos in the divisional round, and cruise to a Super Bowl berth — but that's not how it shook out.

Nix turned in a terrific performance against the Bills in the high-stakes environment of single elimination, passing for 279 yards and three touchdowns, with an interception, and rushing for 29 yards. The Broncos took the ball away from Allen five times, and ultimately won in overtime, 33-30.

That massive win over Buffalo came with a heavy price, as Nix suffered a fractured ankle on the third-to-last play of the game, ending his season. Hosting the AFC championship game, thanks to Nix's magical season, the Broncos tried to get past the New England Patriots with Jarrett Stidham under center, but he was overwhelmed by the moment, the opponent, and the weather.

Flashes of the Bo We Know

In six games this season, we haven't seen the 2025 version of Nix since January 17 — or at least, not the full version. He's shown flashes, but he's looked... different.

Nix seems hesitant and anxious — like a deer caught in the headlights, at times. But he's also had signature moments, like his comeback against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2 and Los Angeles Rams in Week 3.

Against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night, Nix passed for just 107 yards on 27 attempts, with his longest completion being a 16-yard check-down to RJ Harvey. But without the two touchdown drives he led in the first half, the Broncos' suffocating defense wouldn't have been able to pin its ears back and get after Sam Darnold all night.

Amid all the talk of benching Nix, few people mention how the Seahawks' defense is yet to allow a single opponent to eclipse 200 yards passing this season, or how they entered Week 6 as the NFL leader in takeaways. For that matter, I don't hear too many people pointing to the exceedingly tough schedule the Broncos have faced through the first six weeks.

The Broncos have faced the NFL's toughest schedule thus far, but they're 4-2. Every opponent the Broncos have beaten won at least 12 games and were in the playoffs last year. And each of those opponents fielded a ferocious defense.

The Chiefs are the only non-playoff team the Broncos have played this year, and a quarter of the way into the season, they've clearly reestablished themselves as one of the NFL's elite.

Perhaps Nix's ankle isn't as fully recovered as the Broncos have led us to believe. Maybe he's still feeling the psychological effects of the injury.

If so, Nix has sure done a heck of a job to overcome it and do just enough — and sometimes more than enough — to keep the Broncos on a winning track.

Don't Make Me Laugh

Bench Bo Nix? Don't make me laugh.

If you think for a second that Denver would have been able to beat the Jaguars, Rams, Chargers, or Seahawks with Stidham under center, think again. Against the NFL's cream-of-the-crop defenses, he would have folded like a lawn chair, especially after the first 15-20 scripted plays.

And that Mile High Magic that Nix is able to conjure so often? Stidham has no such wand. There would be no iconic comebacks. The Broncos would be 0-6 — maybe 1-5 — but I don't think they beat the Chargers in L.A. with Stidham at quarterback.

Meanwhile, despite his imperfections and ongoing slump, Nix has the Broncos at 4-2 and through the worst of their schedule. There's a tough game in two weeks at home against the Chiefs, but making a change at quarterback right now would only torpedo the Broncos' 2026 ambitions, and squander the benefits of what their hard-fought 4-2 start has gifted them.

Get Ready to Go On a Run

The Broncos are about to go on a run. I'm not predicting an 11-game winning streak, but the schedule is about to open up in a big way.

This team may have faced the NFL's toughest schedule so far, but from here on out, the Broncos get the fourth-easiest slate of opponents, per Pro Football Focus.

Nix will get the opportunity to find his footing and break out of this slump, especially if Payton can get to the bottom of the Broncos' run-game inefficiencies. If the Broncos made a change at quarterback, they'd quickly find themselves back at .500, and then what? Go crawling back to the quarterback who won you 28 games in 40 starts over two-and-a-quarter seasons?

No. Nix is the Broncos' guy, for better or worse. They ride or die with him, come hell or high water.

The Takeaway

Nix's resume offers every reason to believe he'll turn the ship around, especially now that Denver is through its initial six-game gauntlet. The Broncos are poised to make hay while the sun finally peeks around the clouds to shine down on them, and we'll see the offense begin to take flight.

All of the Broncos' Super Bowl goals are on the table. They have a viable path to No. 1 playoff seed, but they won't get there without Nix, that I can assure you.

I can only speculate on the reasons why Nix hasn't looked like himself this season, but I know one of the biggest factors has been the strength of schedule. Now that it's in the rearview, it's time to climb back on the horse, and ride hard for the promised land.