For the first two weeks of the season, not much had gone right for the Denver Broncos offensively. The offense that in the preseason looked competent, suddenly was struggling to move down the field. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix also looked like a shell of what he had shown in the preseason.

Sitting at 0-2, the Broncos were heading to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who were surging in the power rankings. Despite being heavy underdogs, the Broncos shocked the Buccaneers by easily beating them 26-7.

The Broncos offense was finally clicking. They put up multiple scoring drives, and Nix looked like he was really settling into his role. In his bounce-back performance against the Buccaneers, Nix went 25-for-36 for 216 yards, with one rushing touchdown and no interceptions.

Sean Payton praises Bo Nix after first win

Head Coach Sean Payton has firmly stood behind his rookie quarterback. Even during the 0-2 start, Payton emphasized his belief in Nix. Now that the young quarterback finally got his first career win under his belt, Payton re-upped his strong stance on Nix.

“I say this, and I mean this. It’s so important, and I include myself and the offensive coaching staff – it’s our job to paint a perfect picture for this player,” Payton said of Nix. “And if we do that, and we used to say that about whoever is under [center] – our job as coaches, as receivers… we have to paint the picture, and when we do that, this guy is going to be something.”

At one point in the post-game press conference, Payton was asked if Nix’s confidence ever wavered during the tough 0-2 start. Payton would abruptly shut the notion down.

“Stop,” said Payton. “Kid’s been confident. Kid’s been through Auburn, he’s transferred. He’s won and won and won and won and honestly, I haven’t seen him flinch. We all get a little bit more confident with a win, but I say that respectfully. He hasn’t flinched. We had a good plan. The players did a good job and certainly he had more fun than he did in prior weeks.”

This win provided a much-needed confidence boost to the Broncos. Instead of falling to a dreadful 0-3 hole, they have now realized that they are capable of winning.

Next up, they will head to face Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.