Bo Nix has improved recently, and he’s playing the best football of the year right now.

That’s exactly what the Denver Broncos need from their quarterback.

As Denver sits right now, with one regular season game to play against the resting Chargers this week, three straight wins will get them back to the Super Bowl.

Bo Nix has improved recently

Since Week 11, Bo Nix has enjoyed a 92.6 passer rating on average, and he’s seventh among all quarterbacks in EPA+CPOE (0.124) per rbsdm.com. He sits just behind Josh Allen and ahead of Dak Prescott, Matthew Stafford, and C.J. Stroud.

Considering Stafford and Allen are the most-feared quarterbacks as we approach this year’s playoffs, Nix is in great company. He’s playing winning football down the stretch, and he’s hot at just the right time.

Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi is proud of the work he’s putting in.

“I think probably since the first Vegas game, really happy with the way [QB] Bo [Nix] has been progressing,” Lombardi said. “You’re always trying to ascend, and that becomes even more urgent as the playoffs start.”

One of the most encouraging parts of Nix’s game lately is he’s taking what the defense and the game plan gives him. In the Week 11 game vs. Kansas City, he hit multiple deep shots, compared to the Christmas game, where the Broncos methodically marched and controlled the clock. Nix’s control of the offense has allowed him to play multiple styles of quarterback, or in other terms, Denver can win in multiple ways on offense now.

“I think for a quarterback, I think comfort level’s always the thing that you want to see him [grow] as he gets more experienced as a young quarterback,” Lombardi explained. “Just feeling more confident, calmer as he’s breaking the huddle, thinking less. I think that’s come a long way. I think his patience in the pocket has improved. Keeping in his base, not running early when he doesn’t have to. I think that’s been a big improvement. The last Vegas game and the Chiefs game, they were really keeping a lid on it and forcing you. I think we had four drives in the Chiefs game that were 13 plays, or even maybe three that were over 15. That’s hard to do, and you have to be really precise as a quarterback to do that. We’d like to be more explosive, but the fact that we’re able to do that I think has been a credit to his progression.”

Offensively, the Broncos have improved as the season has gone on. And Nix’s progression is a big reason why.

Broncos must work on drops

While Nix has played great, the receivers, running backs, and tight ends need to work on catching the ball.

Heading into the last week of the season, the Broncos have 42 drops. Only the Jacksonville Jaguars (45) have more, and no other team has more than 29.

“Certainly things that we’re always trying to improve on and play better. We’d like to clean up some of the drops,” Lombardi explained on Thursday. “I feel like we’ve been decreasing our penalties, which has been a big goal in the second half of the season. I think we’ve been doing better that way. Just overall, specifically, the drops were a big thing we’re trying to clean up. Hit the big plays when they’re presented to us. We missed a few in that first Chargers game, and that could have made the difference there. Just trying to get better in all phases.”

Courtland Sutton is the team’s No. 1 receiver, but he also leads Denver with eight drops. Tied with him is Evan Engram, who’s had a mostly down season, with some bright spots here and there. Then, it’s RJ Harvey (6), and Troy Franklin and Tyler Badie tied (4). Both Harvey and Engram are tied for the fifth-worst drop percentage (11.1%) in the league.

Whether it’s working with the jugs machine, stretching their fingers, or strengthening them in the gym, Broncos playmakers need to do better at hauling in Nix’s passes going into the postseason.

On Sunday, the Broncos (13-3) face the LA Chargers (11-5) at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium. A win from Denver would give the Broncos the No. 1 seed and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. That game kicks off at 2:25 p.m. MT on Sunday.