On Sunday the Denver Broncos hosted the Atlanta Falcons at Empower Field at Mile High behind record-breaking quarterback play from none other than rookie Bo Nix.
After back-to-back losses on the road in Baltimore and their devastating loss last week in Kansas City, the Broncos were determined to right the ship hoping to keep their playoff hopes alive in front of the home crowd.
Denver found themselves in a third and long on their first drive of the day at around the Denver 30 yard-line when Nix stepped up into the pocket and delivered a dart to Cortland Sutton around the Denver 47 yard-line. On the next play Javontae Williams added another 9-yards on first down.
Those two plays alone set the tone for how Denver’s offense would perform the rest of the game. By the end of the first half, Bo Nix recorded 17 completions on 19 attempts for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Nix threw the ball to 8 different receivers with his longest going to Marvin Mims on a 37 yarder.
The second half was just more of the same, completed domination on both sides of the ball. Denver added 17 more points in the third and fourth quarters, completely shutting down the Falcons offense.
When all was said and done, the young rookie quarterback recorded the best game of his career with 28 completions on 33 attempts for 307 yards through the air with four touchdowns and a quarterback rating (QBR) of 145.0.
Coach Sean Payton had this to say about Nix’ performance on Sunday, “I thought he played well. You feel like you’re in good hands. He’s smart with the football. He makes plays with his feet. A lot of times you’re calling plays for certain looks [and] the looks aren’t there. He has that ability to create and all the while protect the football. I thought he played really well.”
While Nix’s performance was on every highlight reel across the nation Monday morning, Denver’s defense should be getting equally recognized for holding Atlanta to the fewest points allowed this season (6).
Denver’s defense completely shut out the Falcons in the second half only allowing them to get as close as Denver’s 43-yard-line before Cody Barton stepped in front of a pass intended for Drake London.
The Broncos are making a case for their run at the post-season with their latest win as they turn around to get ready for Raiders week in Las Vegas this Sunday. The Broncos ended a losing streak to the Raiders on October 6 when they defeated Las Vegas 34-18. Now they will have to head into enemy territory in order to keep their post season chances alive.
The question remains. Do the Broncos finally have their franchise quarterback in Bo Nix after nearly 10 years? Fans seem to think so.
