Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix impressed in his (preseason) NFL debut against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Nix, who was picked by the Broncos 12th overall during the NFL draft in April, played five drives in Week 1 of preseason. Four of those drives ended with scores — two touchdowns and two field goals — and one of them ended when a teammate lost a fumble.
“It was a good day,” Nix said after a 34-30 victory. “I thought we ran the ball efficiently, made some good plays in the pass game, converted some third downs, got points when we needed to. It was a good job going into half with points and coming out with points. I felt like that was a good point in the game. But overall, I felt like we did a good job. Huge team win.”
Nix had a shaky start with two incompletions and a muffed snap but quickly settled down and finished the game 15-of-21 passing for 125 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers. After the game, Nix was asked if it was an adjustment playing at an NFL level for the first time.
“I could tell it was a little bit faster,” Nix said. “It was definitely more professional. The guys are in the right spots. They’re disguising. They’re doing well, they’re where they are supposed to be. But I felt very calm and relaxed back there. It was just a game. They were still in Cover 3, quarters and man. It’s the same defense, and so you just got to figure out which one they’re in and then execute the play that’s called.
“But I thought we did a great job with our play calls today, we stayed in rhythm. We ran the ball efficiently, and that’s always nice. So overall, it was a very productive day.”
A very productive day, indeed. In addition to his efficient passing numbers, Nix also avoided being sacked and rushed three times for 17 yards. It was about as good of a debut as Denver could have hoped for and Nix is now set to start in the team’s second preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. So far, so good for the 24-year-old rookie quarterback.
