Bo Nix had a rookie season for the ages. In a town that has rightly grown skeptical that he exists—he being an adequate replacement for Peyton Manning; he being a torch-bearer for the Legend of Jon Elway—there has been a prophecy.
After many failed attempts to find a worthy king, including the disaster of Russell Wilson, a silhouette has appeared on the horizon. Alas, he does exist!
And his name is Bo.
It was a joy to watch the 10-7 2024 Broncos, and Bo Nix was a big reason why. His influence on the team is evident. He can throw, he can run and he is a competitor. A natural leader. One of the dudes. And it has created a sense of calm on the deck. He is finally here. Now let’s build around him.
And what has been built already, in Sean Payton’s two years, is a young and hungry team that won ten games, had five All-Pros and made the playoffs for the first time in nine years: a successful season by almost every measure.
Led by an attacking defense, and supported by an opportunistic offense and strong special teams, the Broncos made football in Denver fun again. And Bo Nix was a huge reason why.
When asked about their rookie quarterback in the season’s last press conference, both Head Coach Sean Payton and GM George Paton agreed that they’ve found their man.
There aren’t enough positive adjectives to describe him. On the field, Bo has all of the makings of an elite NFL quarterback: smart, good arm, competitive, athletic, seems to relish the big moments, tough as nails.
Off the field, he is equally impressive. Stoic in defeat, humble in victory, always saying the right thing. Which made this revelation, spoken to local media on the day after the 31-7 loss to Buffalo, all the more interesting.
Bo revealed, without needing to, that he sustained three transverse process fractures in his back while playing the Raiders in Week 12. Finished the game. Played the following week against the Browns. No big deal!
Bo said lots of guys were banged up and he wasn’t about to miss his first Monday Night Football game. Guys play with injuries like that all of the time, he said. And he’s right. That’s what football is all about, especially late in the season: playing hurt. That’s how you ingratiate yourself with your teammates. That’s how you earn their respect. Football is pain. So how much can you handle?
As a wide-receiver/tight-end and special teams player, I myself played with all sorts of injuries, too, and by the end of year six, my body was ruined beyond repair. Six seasons, and I lasted over twice the average. There is a reason why the average NFL career is 2.8 years—yes, just 2.8 years. Like Bo said, guys play with that stuff all the time. That’s what sends them out to pasture. As much as Bo is one of the guys, we all hope he doesn’t meet their fate. Most of those guys will be gone before Bo hits his second contract.
That’s the sad truth. Sometimes, the tougher you are, the more injuries you play with, the shorter your career becomes. Bo admitted that, following the injury, he was “able to make it through the week with treatment”. This means that he was in the training room early every morning, between meetings, and after everyone left, treating the symptoms with drugs and modalities, and struggling his way through practice.
As a player, when I watch my quarterback struggling like that—in early for treatment, medicating, walking gingerly onto the field, wearing extra padding, getting through the day, then finding a way to play in the game, and playing well enough to get us the W—well, I fall in love with him. He is my guy. We found our leader, without question.
But there is more to it. While I’m watching my quarterback struggle, I’m also watching the head coach who is allowing it. I’m also watching the two capable back-ups, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson, who both have starting experience in this league, both of them healthy, both of them ready to step in and execute the offense.
It’s a tricky situation. The player always wants to play. Aside from a handful of guys in my six seasons, the norm is to do what Bo did—push through and find a way. It’s up to those around him to tap him on the shoulder and take his helmet.
Young and hungry can be dangerous—in more ways than one. Bo Nix has revived Broncos country and given hope to a once proud franchise. His ability to run and make plays out of nothing have caught folks by surprise. A back injury—like the one he had—limits that natural ability. Bo does not yet have the pocket presence of a veteran quarterback. He tends to bail out too soon when he should step up and buy time within the pocket. But he isn’t there yet. Right now, he relies on his athleticism to get him out of trouble. With three back fractures, he can’t do that as well. Yet there he was on the field against the Browns, trying to avoid the reigning DPOY, Miles Garrett, who likes to hunt quarterbacks down then smash them in the face with the helmet he ripped off their heads. Then he drinks of their blood in front of them, and laughs as it drips off his chin. That’s Myles Garrett, and Bo had to elude his grasp with a broken back.
That’s what makes me nervous. As exciting as this year was, the young and hungry 2024 Broncos were not yet Super Bowl contenders. The playoff loss to Buffalo revealed that. But the promise of this team is evident. And so much of that promise rests on the shoulders of Bo Nix and the calm that his arrival has brought to once choppy seas.
If Bo’s “toughness” continues to be valued over his health, the storm will return and the ship will begin to sway again, and we’ll all wonder what could have been. What a shame that would be.
