Bo Nix did not play the best football amidst Sunday’s slate. But you could argue he played the *most* football.
Nix, the sixth quarterback selected in this year’s draft and the Denver Broncos’ starter since Week 1, did a little bit of everything in a 41-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He threw for 223 yards. He added 36 more with his legs.
He threw an interception that bounced off an open receiver’s hands. He broke contain on a beautiful touchdown scramble that was called back thanks to a hold. He beat Marcus Williams to the ball on fourth-and-goal to catch a touchdown that wasn’t.
A trick & a treat. 🎃
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/Dj3JZ6Bclu
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 3, 2024
This still feels like it undersells just how much Nix is trying to do in an undermanned offense. Behold, as he runs from sideline to sideline just to make a tough completion for no gain possible:
Bo Nix ran ~75 yards to set up a completion for no gain pic.twitter.com/pjkfIn1xBR
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 3, 2024
Nix has a single above average playmaker at his disposal. On Sunday, he rode Courtland Sutton to seven catches and 122 yards — about 62 percent of Denver’s net passing yardage. His top tailback, Javonte Williams, came into Week 9 ranked third-worst in the NFL with -53 rushing yards over expected (RYOE). Williams’s platoon-mate, Jaleel McLaughin, clocked in at -16. Together, they combined for 52 rushing yards on 17 carries against a Ravens defense that’s been stout against the rush and bad just about everywhere else (26th in overall EPA allowed per play).
This has put a huge burden on the sixth quarterback selected in last spring’s draft. Nix is, as you can see, doing his damnedest to meet it all head on. His downfield passing continues to develop; on Sunday he completed five of 10 passes that traveled at least 12 yards beyond the line of scrimmage:
How much can we actually learn from that? When given a clean pocket, he proved he can make the right read and deliver a deep strike to an open receiver:
because i need to embed this and apparently our videos don't work in-line at the moment, here's a deep Bo Nix completion from today's game pic.twitter.com/X1hepyYTDF
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 3, 2024
But that came late in an already decided game against a bottom-five passing defense. Nix finished his day with a 5-12 mark on throws that went at least 10 yards, but that only puts him at 35 completions in 93 attempts in that range — a 37.6 percent completion rate that doesn’t help assuage concerns about his deep balls from his Auburn and Oregon days.
If we’re keeping track of the good things about his garbage time ball, there’s also this: he had multiple goal-to-go opportunities in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over on downs both times.
In the end, Nix is trying so hard to do so much his game tends to run hyperactive. He’s skittish in the pocket despite a top 10 pressure rate allowed. He’s a manic engine, which can occasionally lead to magic but otherwise manifest in plays like this.
HUGE SACK Trenton Simpson!!
Tune in on CBS! pic.twitter.com/ZSCwxI1OHZ
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 3, 2024
This gives head coach Sean Payton a challenge. There’s enough “nice” in Nix’s game that he’s clearly worth developing. But he’s never going to be a franchise quarterback without help. Denver has plenty of salary cap space next season to bring in a Stefon Diggs or A.J. Brown type to help glean the most from a young quarterback. Unless that happens, we’ll never know what Bo Nix can be.
