To be fair to critics of the Denver Broncos, the standard response is to laugh at the state of things at quarterback. Thus, even after Bo Nix had taken hold of the starting role for the Mile High franchise, it was entirely natural—even instinctual—just to keep the laughs going.
Ever since Peyton Manning stood under center and dominated the division, the rest of the AFC West has grown accustomed to the sight of the once-proud Broncos at or near the bottom of the standings, mostly due to inept quarterback play that ranged somewhere between catastrophic and below average.
Laughing before Nix arrived
Given the length of time between the last time the Broncos had any respectability at the position and the present, it's become comical to even look back at the number of failed attempts to rectify the problem. It's a clown car of personnel decisions, a parade of failures, a carousel of sadness—and the end result was a decade of depressed fans and the very real jobs for a number of coaches and front office execs.
After years of laughter at the Broncos QB situation, the team finally has a respectable starter in Bo Nix.
Let's visit the list, if only for the sake of an extra chuckle, shall we? Here's a list of the players who have started games at quarterback since Manning's retirement from the game:
- Brandon Allen
- Teddy Bridgewater
- Jeff Driskel
- Joe Flacco
- Case Keenum
- Drew Lock
- Paxton Lynch
- Bo Nix
- Brock Osweiler
- Brett Rypien
- Trevor Siemian
- Jarrett Stidham
- Russ Wilson
Important note: This doesn't even include the generous bonus of the Tim Tebow era before Manning saved the franchise.
Laughing at Nix's arrival
Even the way Nix was brought into the Broncos organization felt like another desperate grab for some personnel version of duct tape.
The Broncos had the No. 12 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft and then wouldn't pick again until No. 76 overall in the third round. That's a long time to watch other names pass by, and the team lacked any juice to really move up.
What hurt the Broncos even worse, before making their first pick, was that the 2024 draft became a run on quarterback prospects from the outset. Caleb Williams was expected to go first to the Bears. Then came Jayden Danels to the Commanders and Drake Maye to the Patriots. The Falcons shocked everyone at No. 8 with the selection of Michael Penix, and then the Vikings took J.J. McCarthy off the board at No. 10.
Just like that, despite picking at No. 12, the Broncos were looking at QB6 if they wanted to go that route. And if they didn't go that route, they wouldn't be up again until the third round. So when George Paton and company went ahead and submitted Bo Nix's name, it felt like a panic move following a quarterback run—another distressed heave in the hopes of something good.
Laughing at Nix's first few games
As Nix took over the role of starting quarterback, the preseason looked promising enough for Nix. As an older prospect who was 24 years old with several years of collegiate experience, he seemed more pro-ready than most—as if the game wasn't too big for him compared to others just trying to find their footing at the highest level of football.
Then came the regular season and the miserable results of the Broncos' first month of '24. The Broncos not only lost Nix's first two starts but his performances were abysmal in the early going. Check out this metric from his first start in the NFL:
Bo Nix finished with 26 completions and an average of 3.3 yards per attempt.
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) September 8, 2024
That's the new all-time low for yards per attempt in a single game in which the quarterback completed at least 26 passes.
Chris Weinke's 3.5 on Dec 30, 2001 was the previous low. https://t.co/HnVYALdIVA
That wasn't even rock bottom. He threw 2 interceptions in the season-opener and added two more against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2. That game featured the Steelers' defensive backs literally laughing at Nix. James Palmer, NFL reporter, recorded this anecdote following the game:
"I was just in the Steelers locker room going against a rookie in Bo Nix in his second NFL start, and i'm talking to the Steelers corners, and they're sitting there laughing in the corner going, 'We knew the playbook was this big,'" said Palmer said making a "tiny" hand signal with his index finger and thumb. "'We know they weren't going to take any shots, and we know what he likes to do. They're going to make it easy on him to go here and here, and that's all we had to worry about.'"
No one is laughing now
After starting the year 0-2 with 4 interceptions and zero turnovers, NIx has started to get the hang of this NFL thing. The Broncos are currently 5-5 and went down in Week 10 as the team most likely to beat the Chiefs during their run of consecutive wins.
More than the team's success, Nix is a player who is getting the job done under center. He's got a nice live arm and his body of experience is allowing him to roll with the punches and return with a short memory the following week. The results spoke for themselves, a, game in which Nix displayed solid vision and excellent instincts.
Most importantly, Nix was scheduled for a miserable day as a rookie quarterback facing Steve Spagnuolo's unit and came away with 22 completions on 30 passing attempts for 215 yards and 2 scores. Even on the final drive of the game, Nix looked calm and collected while commanding the Broncos offense all the way to the red zone for an easy chip shot to go to 6-4.
Before the Chiefs' win on Sunday, Spags explained to the media this week that Nix presented a special challenge because he can win in a number of ways—with his rushing ability or with his arm. On Sunday, Nix proved Spags was telling the truth. No one knows if the Broncos will ever win a title with Nix at quarterback—even one celebrating the division. But, for now, the silence when discussing the Broncos quarterback situation is appreciable and Denver will be happy to take that for now.