Broncos need more from QB Bo Nix after rough Week 1 outing

Sean Payton defends Bo Nix after rough outing 

Broncos head coach Sean Payton discussed Nix's sloppy performance in his postgame news conference. 

"Well, we won, that's the first thing," Payton told the media. "I thought [Nix] hung in there. He battled. Made some critical plays first in the second half, and so obviously he'll be disappointed with the turnovers, but it was a gutsy performance."

Nix — who finished 25-of-40 passing for 176 yards and one touchdown — was much more self-critical.

"You don't ever want to throw interceptions. As tough as it is, you've just got to move on and respond with positive plays after that," the QB said postgame. "Both times I thought I had decent vision ... [but] probably shouldn't have thrown both of them. You live and you learn, sometimes you can be a little too aggressive, and I was too aggressive. Ultimately, I've got to be smarter." 

The Broncos need Nix to start playing mistake-free, or else he could have another slow start. Last season, the 12th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft didn't throw a TD pass until a Week 4 road game against the New York Jets. He still finished with 29 TD passes in 17 games, the second most by a rookie in NFL history, via Stats Perform.

Even more concerning for the Broncos, they'll soon be facing much better teams than the Titans, who had the NFL's worst record (3-14) in 2024. 

In Weeks 3-5, Denver plays the Los Angeles Chargers (away), Cincinnati Bengals (home) and Philadelphia Eagles (away). The Eagles, of course, are the defending Super Bowl champions. Chargers QB Justin Herbert and Bengals QB Joe Burrow — potential MVP candidates — present challenging matchups for the Broncos defense.

Payton has said the 2025 Broncos can win a Super Bowl. To do that, they need Nix to take another step after finishing third in 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. In Week 1, he didn't look ready to do that.