True to form, Nix didn’t produce all highlights against the Carolina Panthers. In the first quarter, facing third-and-goal from Carolina’s 8-yard line, Nix dropped back to pass … and kept dropping back to elude blitzers … then kept running backward until he reached the 33-yard line before he at last threw the ball away.
After three quarters, Carolina led 14-13. Nix threw an interception and committed a fumble, though it didn’t lead to a turnover.
Yet in fourth quarters, Nix, 26, transforms into an unbelievably effective quarterback at producing plays when they matter most. On Sunday, they included leading two fourth-quarter scoring drives, including a 26-yard touchdown pass to Pat Bryant with 5:41 left that put Denver ahead for good. It was his 13th career fourth-quarter comeback — as many as Hall of Fame quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Steve Young had in their careers.
Nix finished with 237 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also completed six of his seven passes on third down for 72 yards and a touchdown. Denver’s five fourth-quarter comebacks are the most in the NFL.
“It seems like it’s always the same feeling,” Nix said. “There’s always a look in the huddle like, ‘Hey, guys, we don’t have a choice right here, and we gotta go make something out of it.’ Today, those second-half touchdowns were really, really important.”
Nix entered this season under high expectations after he led five fourth-quarter comebacks and seven game-winning drives last season as he helped Denver reach the AFC championship game, a game he couldn’t play in because of an ankle injury.
In Week 1, however, the Broncos lost by double digits to Kansas City, and in mid-October, Amazon analyst and former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick ripped Nix after a “Thursday Night Football” game for his meek play during — naturally — a narrow Broncos win over Seattle in overtime.
“It was really frustrating to watch,” Fitzpatrick said after Nix threw for 107 yards and averaged 4 yards per attempt, the lowest mark of the season to that point. “Part of it for me is Bo Nix is not playing competitively. It’s almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he’s playing football right now.”
Nix said at the time that he didn’t try to play conservatively. “I try to be extremely aggressive when I get the opportunities,” he said. Payton said he never considered benching Nix.
The move has paid off. Nix didn’t throw an interception for five straight games until Sunday. Even with that pick, the Broncos won their fifth straight game and improved to 7-2. But whether Denver is ready for legitimate Super Bowl contention remains, like any evaluation of Nix, in the eye of the beholder.
“At 7-2, we feel really confident,” Nix said. “But at the same time, there’s a lot of things we can get better at.”
Despite the Broncos’ strong record, their offense has been inconsistent all season, leading Payton to take back play-calling responsibilities last month. The inability to find a rhythm outside fourth quarters factored into why Denver had been outgained by 658 yards this season entering Sunday — third-worst in the league. (The Panthers then outgained Denver by 41 more yards.)
Denver has been able to wriggle out of those holes all year. Whether it will work in the playoffs is another question. But in 16 consecutive close games with Nix as the starter, Denver has found a formula that is as ugly as it is consistent.
