Denver Broncos fans are worried.
After the team’s first sniff of the playoffs in nearly a decade, the team’s starters haven’t played much in the preseason. And when they’ve played, they’ve struggled, for the most part.
That left multiple fans venting frustration during the team’s preseason finale against the Saints.
Denver Broncos fans are worried about Bo Nix and the starting offense
OK, I’ll preface here that most Denver Broncos fans are diehard Bo Nix supporters. Still, some have worried aloud on Bluesky about him.

A screenshot of a Bluesky post about Bo Nix. It reads “Bo struggling a little. Not really happy with his preseason so far.”
Others are wondering if they need to be worried about the starting offense as a whole.
I think it’s a mistake that the Broncos have barely played the starters, they have looked rough.
— Man, Myth, and Jefe (@theonlyjefedejefes.bsky.social) August 23, 2025 at 11:07 AM
i missed the first quarter. how worried should i be about the offense? is it just a thing where they need some time to gel, or is this bad?
— wyominghippie.bsky.social (@wyominghippie.bsky.social) August 23, 2025 at 1:06 PM
So, how worried should Broncos Country be about Bo and the O?
I’d say minimally worried because this is just how the NFL works these days.
There are less padded practices and fewer preseason games than there used to be. Those valuable reps for the starters are being put off until the regular season kicks off.
Ever since the league went to 17 regular season games, and only three preseason games, we’ve seen sloppiness for most teams early in the year. Last season, the Broncos started 0-2 in two of their worst games of the season. Then they bounced back and ran off three straight wins.
“I don’t know, even after Week 1, we better be improving to Week 2 and Week 3,” Sean Payton said of evaluating the Denver Broncos run game as an ongoing process. “I think we will have an idea at the quarter pole where we’re at.”
While Payton was talking specifically about his running backs, it makes sense if he thinks of the entire team this way. We’ll have to wait and see what these 2025 Broncos are until four games into the season.
In other words; this offense is still gelling.
Bo Nix is the key to Denver returning to the playoffs
Bo Nix must play well if the Broncos want to make the playoffs for a second straight year. That’s true whether you think he’s going to crush last year’s numbers or you’re worried he’s going to go through a slump.
Considering how much GM George Paton has improved the roster this offseason, the biggest worry surrounding Denver is a sophomore slump for Nix.
After starting terribly last year, he excelled down the stretch for the Broncos and was in the running for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Nix finished the year 12th in passing yards (3,775), sixth in touchdowns (29), and 18th in passer rating (93.3). He was 18th, though, when you look at advanced metrics like EPA+CPOE.
The criticisms of Nix’s play include that he’s “boring,” a “check-down merchant,” and that he had to be shielded from a heavy workload early on.
None of those things are necessarily true, with the high check-down rate in some games being the closest to reality.
The worries about Nix started picking up when the preseason began.
In Week 1 of preseason, Nix was off. He went 6-11 for 31 yards and took an intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety. It wasn’t a great play, but considering this was just a preseason game, it was the smart thing to do.
That bad week left some to call for a rising likelihood of a “megaslump” in 2025.
Nix didn’t play in Week 2, and then the offense sputtered in Week 3 of preseason on Saturday in New Orleans.
They started with a 3-and-out and followed it with an 11-play drive for a field goal.
Surprisingly, Payton trotted the starters back out for another drive. He said in the lead up to the game the starters would play only 8-10 snaps, but they doubled that (20).
Finally, the offense got it going.
Nix rolled left as he felt pressure from the right, and threw a dart to Courtland Sutton’s back shoulder for a 43-yard gain. Three plays later, he hit Sutton for another back-shoulder grab, this time 19 yards for a touchdown. That score came on 3rd-and-1 from the Saints 19 yard line; so the throw was a bit of a surprise itself.
Nix finished with a stat line of 10-14 for 110 yards and a touchdown. Not too shabby for a little more than one quarter of work.
It was a great way to end preseason play for the Broncos starters. So, should we be worried about them as the season starts? Nah. But get ready for more preseason football when regular season kicks off in early September.