In many ways, the game Bo Nix had in the Denver Broncos' Week 15 win over the Green Bay Packers felt like an "arrival" of sorts. Too many folks in the NFL world have been sleeping on Nix since he was drafted by the Broncos, and that game really woke them all up.
Nix's biggest critics were converted to Bo-lievers.
The Broncos were 2.5-point underdogs at home against the Packers, and while the NFL world has been sleeping on Nix, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur wasn't surprised by what he saw out there on Sunday. In fact, after the game, LaFleur said about Nix what the rest of the NFL world has seemingly been terrified to admit.
Matt LaFleur on Bo Nix's performance vs. Packers: "That's what the great ones do..."
“He’s a great athlete, No. 1, but I’ll have to go back and truly sit back and watch the tape, but he made a ton of plays. He made plays in rhythm; he played made plays off schedule. That’s what the great ones do, and he played great tonight.”
- Packers head coach Matt LaFleur (via Broncos PR)
Did you notice what LaFleur did there? He lumped Bo Nix in with the "great ones" at the quarterback position.
It was a subtle compliment from LaFleur, but a massive one.
Nix threw for 302 yards against the Packers with four touchdowns, and a number of absolutely huge plays that got the attention of the rest of the NFL world. Nix's four touchdown passes all went to four different receivers, and each required various layers of physical execution, mental execution, timing, and borderline offensive confidence (at least, if you're the Packers' defense).
On the first touchdown pass, Nix and the offense broke the huddle quickly so the Packers didn't have time to adjust defensively, leaving Michael Bandy wide open for his first NFL touchdown. On the second touchdown, Nix recognized a specific coverage and fit the ball into an extremely tight window to Lil'Jordan Humphrey.
On the third touchdown, Nix found Courtland Sutton on a perfectly thrown, perfectly-timed, perfectly accurate fade route. On the fourth touchdown, Nix channeled a new level on 2nd-and-15, hitting Troy Franklin with four Packers defenders all around him. It was probably the top throw of the weekend made with the highest degree of difficulty in terms of timing, placement, velocity, and accuracy.
And those were just the touchdowns. Nix made a bunch of plays against the Packers that had the Green Bay defense on its heels the entire game.
It's always cool to hear the perspective of other coaches and players when it comes to Bo Nix, but LaFleur lumping Nix in with the "greats" in today's game is one of the highest compliments he could possibly receive.