Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix has faced some of the toughest pass rushers in the NFL, but on Sunday, he’ll face the best one yet as Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers come to town.
Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix prepares for Micah Parsons
Micah Parsons is a wrecking ball of a player, and the challenge when facing a pass rusher of his caliber is trying to figure out where he’ll line up.
He can line up off the edge, at inside linebacker, inside the A-gap, you name it, and he can do it.
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“Yes, there’s not any one spot,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton said. “That’s a good point. He lines up to the right, to the left. You try to chart it, you try to track it. They do a good job looking at their own tendencies, self-scouting. We just have to understand where he’s at.”
For Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, this will be the first time he faces the Packers’ star pass rusher.
“This will be my first time playing him (DL Micah Parsons),” Nix said. “I’ve only heard stories and seen video. I know it’s going to be a lot for us. It’s going to be something that we really have to key and we really have to control. He’s one of the best players in the league for a reason. He’s going to make his plays. We just have to limit those plays, and that will make him game-changing. So he’s a great player and he’s backed by a great defense. We definitely got our work cut out for us.”
Parsons has 12.5 sacks on the season, which is 1.5 sacks away from tying his career high, and 26 quarterback hits, which is four shy of his previous career high of 30. It’s safe to say that he’s playing some of his best football, and he’s on a defensive unit that opens up more opportunities for him.
Broncos embracing underdog mentality
Coming into Sunday’s game, the Broncos are 2.5-point home underdogs, but the team mentality doesn’t care about that or what oddsmakers have to say.
This Broncos team has a notable chip on their shoulder that I’ve seen since training camp. They don’t pay too much attention to the outside noise, they don’t buy into their own hype. This Broncos team shows up each week with that in mind.
Several Broncos players in the locker room told me that the team embraces being the underdog and that they’re fine with it, because they believe they can win, no matter who they line up against.
“I don’t really pay attention to that,” Payton said. “We know we’re playing a good football team, so that’s something that we have no control over. We have four tough opponents the next four weeks, three of the four of them are at home. We’re counting on our crowd this week, not just at the line of scrimmage, but while they’re in the huddle.”
Nix had arguably the best line of the day when it came to being asked about Sunday’s underdog designation.
“I don’t really care,” Nix said. “My mom thinks we’ll win, so that’s all that matters.”
Sunday’s game is expected to have an electrifying playoff atmosphere feel to it. We’ll see how the team responds.
