On Thursday Night Football, the Denver Broncos defeated the Las Vegas Raiders in a defensive slugfest, 10–7, and advanced to an 8-2 record for the season. Despite Denver currently sitting as the number one seed in the AFC playoff picture, there are major concerns about their potential postseason success. The offense is currently the 22nd-ranked unit in the league despite having one of the best offensive lines and play callers in the NFL.
Photo Cred: SI
Second-year quarterback Bo Nix is the main culprit for the struggling offense, as he has struggled virtually the entire season. This did not change on Thursday, as Nix was only able to throw for 150 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, with a putrid 5.4 yards per attempt against a Raiders defense that was bottom 10 entering the game. Denver has been carried by its defense the entire season, as they are currently the third-best unit in the league after finishing number one last season, which propelled them to a 10-7 record and playoff berth.
Broncos fans feel they have given Nix enough time to prove himself, as the second-year quarterback is substantially older than most sophomores in the NFL at 25 years old. Nix is also not in the normal situation we see of first-round pick quarterbacks, where they are surrounded by incompetent coaching and a poor cast of surrounding talent. Nix has a head coach and play caller who produced elite offenses for over a decade with Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, including a Super Bowl victory in 2009.
As previously mentioned, he also has one of the top offensive lines in the league and a decent cast of pass catchers. On top of that, Denver’s defense being elite has kept Nix in games and given him numerous opportunities to be successful by holding opponents to low scores. Despite all these advantages that we rarely see rookie and second-year quarterbacks benefit from, Nix has not even proven to be an average player who can simply operate Sean Payton’s system and complement the defense.
Instead, he is actively hurting the team and often looks like a mediocre backup. After no improvement from his rookie season and another horrific performance on Thursday, the Denver fans finally had enough, raining down boos at their quarterback throughout the game. Nix did not seem very fazed by it after the game, saying, “I’ve been booed before, I’ll be booed again.”
Photo Cred: USA Today
Despite all of Denver’s success so far this season, it is hard to ignore that they could be a dominant team instead of barely scraping by against terrible teams like the Raiders and Giants if only they had just a decent quarterback. That is the only thing holding Denver back from being a likely divisional-round exit, as opposed to the true favorite to come out of the AFC. Unless Nix is able to improve, Sean Payton will most likely have to move in another direction at quarterback after next season, as this roster is too good to waste on a quarterback who holds them back to this degree.
