For the second consecutive week, Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix was named the NFL’s AFC Offensive Player of the Week after his dominant performance against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 11.
Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix named AFC POTW for Week 11
Bo Nix’s stock has certainly risen in the last month or so for the folks who have been paying attention. This week, a lot of national media analysts are suddenly asking themselves the question, ‘Where did Nix come from?’ He’s been here all along.
Despite the eulogies being written about Nix’s career after Weeks 1 and 2, the Broncos rookie tuned out all of the noise as he’s continued to showcase growth and progression inside of Sean Payton’s offense, and he’s helped Denver get to their 6-5 record. Earlier this week, Payton talked about the belief that the locker room has in Nix and how powerful that can be.
“I think it’s pretty powerful and here’s why—just having experienced it for a long stretch with another player in [former Saints QB Drew] Brees,” Payton said. “You always believe you’re in each game. You always believe—even if you fall behind—you’re in each game. The opposite can be very difficult. I think that player who’s touching the ball on every offensive play, it definitely can lead to a direction—both mentally as well as on the field—lead to a direction [of] how a team thinks.”
After his Week 10 performance against the Kansas City Chiefs, he took home the honors of NFL Rookie of the Week. His dominant Week 11 performance against the Atlanta Falcons is landing him his first AFC Offensive Player of the Week award.
He threw 28-of-33 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns, no interceptions, and completed 85% of his passes in Sunday’s win against the Atlanta Falcons. When you turn on the film, his throws and command under center are even more impressive.
Payton always talks about confidence being born from demonstrated ability, and Nix has demonstrated the ability and confidence over and over, and everything has begun to click for him.
He’s firmly in the conversation for the NFL Rookie of the Year award, and if he can keep progressing the way that he has and Denver finds a way to make it into the playoffs, he could lock it up, which would make a lot of the receipts about the Broncos taking him 12th overall even sweeter to revisit.
