Just throw, Bo.
And coach, just let Bo throw.
No?
Sunday morning woke up with the thrill of kicking off the Bo Nix Era in Broncos Country, but Sunday night eased in with all the excitement of a Trevor Siemian Tuesday.
In a strange and sluggish opener in Seattle, the Denver Broncos and their rookie quarterback looked shaky at best. The offense was lackluster – 231 total yards, one touchdown and a general inability to capitalize on a commanding first-half performance by the defense – which featured two safeties and an interception on the game’s second play. In truth, Nix was handed one of the most advantageous first halves a rookie quarterback could ever ask for, but he was also handcuffed by play calling that training wheels and guard rails. The game plan was clearly designed to keep Nix out of trouble, but no longer is he facing preseason defenses.
Sean Payton’s running “attack” on Sunday looked slightly more competent than Coach Prime’s on Saturday night, as Denver posted just 99 rushing yards against a respectable Seahawks defense. Nix threw two interceptions – two more than he did in the entire preseason, one less than his entire senior season at Oregon.
When it was all said and done, Nix went 26-for-42 for 138 passing yards in the 26-20 loss. If you don’t have your calculator handy, no problem – that’s just 3.3 yards per attempt, or 5.3 per completion. If Broncos fans had ever seen a dink-and-dunk design, that was one of the most “remarkable.”
Trevor Siemian went 18-for-26, one touchdown and two interceptions in his Broncos starting debut. Somewhat comically, CBS showed a graphic during the game that outlined John Elway’s first game, too. The eventual Duke of Denver went 1-for-8 for 18 yards and tossed an interception for good measure, all before getting yanked. The side-by-side-by-side – of Siemian, Elway and Nix – illustrates one thing: A rookie quarterback’s opener means very little.
So before anyone jumps to conclusions – which is sure to take place until Nix gets another shot at it on Sunday – there’s a long way to go before any real determinations can be made.
The Broncos are 0-1 and that’s okay. To be fair, only the ultimate optimists saw it any other way. Bo Nix, the Broncos future of the franchise, wasn’t great, but it wasn’t all on him.
If there’s any real cause for concern, it might be that Nix doesn’t have much around him. The rookie’s weapons weren’t overly inspiring; if his receivers were open, it wasn’t by much. The window of “open” shrinks considerably from college to the pros and shuts even further from preseason to the real thing, but it looked as if Nix was throwing to covered targets all day long. The receiving corps sure looked like it could use the services of someone like Tim Patrick, a casualty of the Broncos decision to “go young.”
And on a day where the newbie needed some relief from his running backs, he didn’t get much. Then again, it was clear that Seattle was content to stuff the box and make Nix beat them.
If there was a glimmer of hope, it arrived on the Broncos final drive, where Nix drove Denver 54 yards by going 4-for-5 in the air and making two spectacular runs, the last one resulting in a touchdown. That drive showed what could possibly happen when the training wheels are taken off and Nix is asked to do more. With time running out, and the Broncos only hopes of winning riding on the rookie’s shoulders, Nix played well.
Payton has handled his young quarterback masterfully thus far. It would be irresponsible to bash the game plan or play calling just yet. But if anyone is to learn whether or not Nix can really play, he’s going to have to play. Perhaps Payton isn’t calling risk-reward plays to protect Nix; perhaps Nix can’t make those plays; perhaps he – like any rookie quarterback – just needs time to get a feel for the speed and precision of the NFL.
The kid is going to take his lumps. Week 1 doesn’t mean that Bo Nix is bad or good. If Week 1 taught us anything, it’s that we need to tune in for Week 2.