Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix went 2-of-12 of passes longer than 10 yards in his pro debut, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, a worrying stat that enables his critics to continue calling Nix a short throw merchant. Of those 12 attempts beyond 10 yards, two were intercepted.
Nix averaged just 3.3 yards per attempt against the Seattle Seahawks, the sixth-lowest YPA average among QBs who have thrown at least 40 passes in a game since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger.
Here’s the good news: Nix is not alone.
Peyton Manning averaged 3.33 YPA in the ninth game of his NFL career. Caleb Williams, the first overall pick in this year’s draft, went 1-of-7 on passes beyond 10 yards in his NFL debut (via NGS). Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick in April, went 1-of-3 on passes beyond 10 yards in Week 1.
Bo Nix threw 12 passes past 10 yards yesterday. 2 of them were intercepted and he threw THREE more (video below) that could've easily been picked.
Last one is the most egregious. pic.twitter.com/7to9SPR5Gk
— Carter Donnick (@CDonnick1) September 9, 2024
“It was a great game of learning, a great growing game,” Nix said of Sunday’s performance. “I think the film was positive. You get back and you see that there were opportunities and [you] just [have to] capitalize on a few more areas.”
Yes, Nix struggled on Sunday, as rookie quarterbacks often do. But it remains to be seen how much his short passing was due to his perceived limitations or simply a consequence of coach Sean Payton’s early-season game plan.
“We’ve got Bo, you know, being a rookie quarterback with the first game plan going out, we didn’t try to do too much,” wide receiver Marvin Mims said Thursday. “We tried to keep it a little basic. But as the season goes along we’ll start opening it up a little bit more and see what happens.”
Nix has the arm strength to go deep, Payton just didn’t ask him to utilize that strength often in Week 1 going up against Seattle’s secondary. If that trend continues throughout the season, perhaps we can chalk it up to Nix being unable to go deep. It’s just a one-game sample size at the moment, though, so it’s too early to panic in Denver.
