For some odd reason, the Atlanta Falcons secondary was very outspoken heading into their Week 11 matchup against the Denver Broncos. Boy, do they look foolish now? Between safeties Jessie Bates and Justin Simmons, there was an odd amount of anti-Broncos sentiments, specifically anti-Bo Nix, from the Falcons sidelines.
For Justin Simmons, it makes sense to an extent. Simmons is one of the all-time Broncos, and no matter what he says, being released by the team you were drafted by and spent a decade with stings. It took Simmons quite a while to find a new home after sitting on the open market, and he seems to be fitting in with the Falcons.
Bo Nix's performance makes Justin Simmons, Jessie Bates look bad
In their pre-game huddle, Simmons led an explicative-laden pump-up speech, hoping to stick it to the Broncos in his old stadium, the one he called home. Simmons, however, didn't exactly have a great game and was made to look silly by the Broncos rookie signal caller on a few occasions. Simmons completely whiffed on a strike from Nix to Devaughn Vele over the middle, splitting both he and Bates for a major gain.
Speaking of Jessie Bates, he was more than happy to throw his own shade at Bo Nix this week. Bates, who has fallen off since peaking with the Bengals and has fallen into a pit of unknown with a lowly Falcons franchise, "joked" about seeing Bo Nix play in college for "like ten years". The now 11th-year starter Nix diced up the Falcons' secondary, put everyone to sleep by the second quarter, and sent the Falcons' season into disarray and panic.
Ultimately, the only joke here is Bates. Bo Nix established himself as a legitimate starting quarterback in the NFL this week and has made his statement that he is here and he is not to be taken lightly. The former Oregon standout had the Falcons' secondary on the heels all day, with defenders moving backward almost as quickly as Bates' hairline has been.
Hey, what did Bo Nix do this week anyway? Well, he went 28-33, tallied 307 yards, threw four touchdowns, and put up a 145 passer rating. On the other hand, Kirk Cousins did not throw a touchdown, was picked off, and was sacked three times.
The Broncos got the last laugh, and are going to give the Falcons two weeks to think about the beatdown they received. You would think a pair of veterans would know better, but they learned an important lesson: Never poke the Bo.