The Denver Broncos pulled off a 17-14 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football to advance to 4-2, but the play of Bo Nix and the offense remain a major concern.
The Broncos were held scoreless in the second half with six consecutive drives ending in punts, which opened the door for Seattle to erase a 14-3 deficit and take the game to overtime. Nix finished with just 107 yards on 17-of-27 passing, an underwhelming performance for the franchise quarterback who has been under the microscope as of late.
Former NFL quarterback, Amazon Prime analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick unloaded in a fiery postgame rant to express his frustration with Nix’s brand of football.
Ryan Fitzpatrick unloads on Bo Nix amid Broncos’ offensive struggles
Ryan Fitzpatrick gave his thoughts after the Broncos' overtime victory#TNFonPrime pic.twitter.com/AQ5wuThFjc
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) October 16, 2026
“Bo Nix is not playing competitively. It’s almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he’s playing football right now. The guy doesn’t want to throw the ball, that’s fine. He’s throwing to the flats, he’s throwing behind [the line of scrimmage]. He has no trust from his coach… They’re in the locker room right now, they’re excited, they won. He’s not playing competitive football right now.”
Fitzpatrick didn’t stop there.
“I can only imagine how Sean Payton feels. I mean Sean Payton, Davis Webb, everybody that blocks for him. He’s not competing right now and that’s something that he’s hung his hat on for the last two years. I don’t know if he’s still injured and I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s not good enough.”
Broncos fans don’t want to hear it, especially coming from Fitzpatrick who was a journeyman with zero playoff wins in his 17-year career. But despite the imperfect messenger, there’s some truth in Fitzpatrick’s rant.
There’s a valid rebuttal that Nix managed the game and did what was needed to win, which is all that matters at the end of the day, and that’s true. But at some point Nix will have to do more than simply avoid losing games for Denver. He’ll have to put the team on his back and go out and win them.
Bo Nix’s success with Broncos is becoming a historic outlier
Nix didn’t complete a single pass 10-plus yards down the field in Thursday night’s win. His longest completion traveled just 7.6 yards.
There are 701 qualified QB seasons through 6 games in the past 20 years
— Doug Clawson (@doug_clawson) October 16, 2026
2026 Bo Nix ranks 701st out of 701 in average pass length (4.9 air yards per attempt)
His avg pass was thrown behind the line of scrimmage in the 2nd half on Thursday
According to CBS Sports researcher Doug Clawson, of 701 qualifying quarterbacks through the first six games in the past 20 years, Bo Nix ranks dead-last in average pass length at just 4.9 yards per attempt. The Broncos pose no threat to opponents downfield, as Nix has struggled to consistently challenge defenses beyond the short passing game.
Should this matter as long as the Broncos are winning? Well, yes actually.
Nix’s success is simply not sustainable if NFL history is any indicator. Unless he continues to be a massive outlier or unless the defense continues to carry this team, it’ll be hard for Denver to continue winning games with such a conservative approach from the quarterback position.
According to Clawson, Nix is 13-3 (.813 win percentage) in his career when he averages six yards or less per pass attempt, which is the best in NFL history.
The rest of the NFL has a dismal .283 win percentage in such games with top quarterbacks like Matt Stafford (15-39), Aaron Rodgers (17-32) and Josh Allen (16-18) struggling to win games when being so unable to push the ball downfield.
There will come a time when the game is on Nix’s shoulders, and throwing the ball exclusively near the line of scrimmage isn’t going to get the job done.
Nix has to let it rip like Broncos fans know he’s capable of, or the borderline unwatchable offense will continue to be a recurring storyline throughout the season, and the Broncos will eventually find out just how difficult it is to keep winning in this fashion.
Fitzpatrick’s criticism might be uncomfortable for Denver fans to hear, but unless Nix starts pushing the ball downfield effectively, it certainly won’t be the last time someone questions whether the Broncos quarterback is doing enough to lead this offense.
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