After Denver's 10-7 win on Thursday Night Football, the geniuses of the football media world called for Bo Nix's head. Despite winning seven in a row and leading the AFC West, some said the Broncos need to draft a new quarterback; others said he would be better off as a backup behind a true veteran. Somehow, two poor performances in a row, first against the NFL's top defense and then on a short week, were enough to end his starting career.
After seeing the rest of the week in the NFL unfold, it is clear that Nix was the victim of overreaction and attention-seeking media. The Broncos' offense struggled, and Nix ended with one score, two interceptions (one bounced off the middle hands of his receiver), and 150 yards through the air. No one is arguing that this was Nix's best game, but the takes were clearly overreactions.
Nix is going through the growing pains and woes every second-year quarterback faces. The reality, though, is that media heads want to be right with the hottest take, not the most sane take. Nix seemingly doesn't get the ability to grow and learn from mistakes, and must be an MVP-caliber quarterback from day one.
Lets look at some blind resumes from Week 11:
- 28/40, 306 yards, TD, INT, fumble lost
- 13/23, 158 yards, TD, INT, two fumbles, one lost
- 16/28, 150 yards, TD, 2 INT
- 20/42, 240 yards, TD, 2 INT
- 10/12, 178 yards, TD, INT, two fumbles, two lost
- 16/31, 161 yards, TD, 2 INT, fumble
- 15/26, 183 yards, TD, fumble, fumble lost
- 20/36, 176 yards, 0 TD, 2 fumbles, one lost
If it is time to bench Nix, then all of these quarterbacks need to hit the pine. If the standard for being benched is Nix's performance, then the Bills should consider benching Josh Allen; the Steelers should move on from Aaron Rodgers; the Vikings should bench JJ McCarthy; and Sam Darnold should sit behind Drew Lock in Seattle. Obviously, none of those are going to happen, so why should the Broncos bench Nix?
The obvious and sane answer is that they shouldn't, and benching him does nothing. If we are asserting that Nix's development should be done by 25, then someone needs to tell Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, and Jared Goff that their careers should have ended when they were struggling at 25. This precedent doesn't exist in the NFL anymore, and there's no need to hold Nix to an intentionally unachievable standard that we didn't hold those players to.
No one is expecting Nix to be the NFL's top quarterback each week. There are obvious avenues for improvement, and no one is denying that. However, simply denying him his ability to improve makes no sense and only hurts the Broncos long-term. If we are going to say a playoff quarterback in his second year with 55 career touchdowns, the most of the 2024 draft class, to his name is a bust and needs to be benched, then self-reflection and a long look in the mirror is needed.