Rich Weighs In on the Broncos’ Ongoing Bo Nix Problem in Denver’s TNF Win vs the Seahawks

The Broncos went into Seattle on Thursday night, beat the defending Super Bowl champions in their own building, moved to 4-2, and somehow left a worse taste in everyone's mouth than if they'd lost.

Rich has been around the NFL for almost a quarter century with NFL Network, and longer than that with SportsCenter. He couldn't recall the last time a win like this produced this kind of hangover. "We just beat the Super Bowl champs and I'm wondering how good the team is," he said, voicing the strange mood around Denver.

The reason is the quarterback. Sean Payton has taken play calling back from Davis Webb, and Rich didn't mince words about what that signals. "They clearly have a quarterback problem there."

The numbers made the case for him. Denver did what everyone has been begging it to do and started fast, scoring two early touchdowns through running backs JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey. Then the offense disappeared. Over its last 10 possessions, from the middle of the second quarter through overtime, Denver gained 32 total yards. Throw out the two end-of-half drives and it's still eight possessions. As someone in the studio pointed out, that doesn't make it much better.

Bo Nix finished 17 of 27 for 107 yards, the second fewest passing yards in any of his 42 career starts including the playoffs. He averaged 4 yards per attempt, below his season mark of 5.6, which ranks 31st among quarterbacks with three or more starts and sits 0.2 yards below Cam Ward.

The defense carried the night. Ja'Quan McMillian intercepted Sam Darnold late in the fourth quarter and again in overtime to set up the winning field goal. But in between, on a third-and-8 where Payton called a screen to keep the clock running, Nix threw it in the dirt, handing Seattle the ball back with a timeout.

That is the play that set off Ryan Fitzpatrick on Amazon Prime, in a postgame takedown Rich called the most unsparing of all the criticism.

"Bo Nix is not playing competitively," Fitzpatrick said. "It's almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he's playing football right now." He described a quarterback with no trust from his coach, then pointed to the overtime run designed for Nix to make someone miss and get a first down. "He's not competing right now, and that's something that he's hung his hat on for the last two years. I don't know if he's still injured. I don't know what's going on, but it's not good enough. It's effort."

Rich called it exactly what an analyst is supposed to do on television, and gave credit to Charissa Thompson for the follow-up that drew it out: a simple "What do you mean?" Without that question, Rich said, nobody gets the rest of the soundbite.

Fitzpatrick was hardly alone. Rich noted Dan Orlovsky said on Get Up that Nix looks like he doesn't want the ball, and Chris Simms piled on too. Nix's own postgame explanation didn't help. "I don't know where the disconnect is right now, to be honest with you," he said, adding that the offense is "for some reason struggling to find those explosive plays."

Rich was careful about judging a full press conference by one clip, but noted that quarterbacks are supposed to point the thumbs at themselves, and this soundbite didn't sound like it. He has met Nix, who he said doesn't go on social media. Somebody will tell him what's being said, and Rich wondered if that will light a fire.

If you need a silver lining, Rich has one. Denver's 168 total yards were its fewest in a win since September 4, 1983. The quarterback that day was John Elway, making his first career start. There's nowhere to go but up.

Still, Rich has been texting with people around the league asking what's up with Nix, and the stakes are real. If this doesn't improve, there's a fifth-year contract option to think about. Up next after the mini bye is a trip to Arizona, where Jacoby Brissett sits just above Nix in yards per attempt. That could be a chance to cleanse the palate, because what follows is a home date with Kansas City that Denver has to win to avoid being swept, then a visit to Carolina.

The national conversation about Nix is so loud, Rich noted, that nobody is even talking about the defending champs sitting at .500 through six weeks.