It's safe to say that Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix has had his 'welcome to the NFL' moment. That came in Denver's crushing Week 1 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks.
Nix went 26-of-42 (61.9%) for just 138 yards passing and zero touchdowns, with two brutal interceptions thrown into double and even triple coverage. He finished with a dismal QB rating of 47.5.
However, Nix has a big football IQ and the Broncos are banking on him learning his lessons from the beatdown Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks delivered in no uncertain terms. In fact, Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi expressed his confidence in just that on Thursday.
Lombardi was in the booth, as usual, during Week 1's action, so he got his eye-in-the-sky view of Nix's NFL debut. But after days of studying the film, Lombardi shared a few anecdotes about Nix's realizations and his outlook moving forward.
“There was one play in particular where I think we had a chance at a big play, and he just had the wrong footwork," Lombardi said of Nix. "He was a little ahead of the throw, which caused it to look very inaccurate. Just a couple little details like that and a couple of throws. The two interceptions, he kind of forced them in there."
Lombardi was geared up to hammer home these inefficiencies and foibles in the film room on Monday, but Nix had already done his homework, pinpointing his low-lights.
"The thing I like the most is when we came in on Monday and watched the film, before anything was said, he knew," Lombardi continued. "He had answers for everything. You could see that there’s going to be growth from when he makes mistakes. So, I would say that nobody on offense, including the coaches, had a great day on Sunday. I think everyone getting a little bit better is going to help him the most.”
As head coach Sean Payton said from the podium on Sunday night, and re-emphasized on Monday morning, the Broncos didn't exactly rise to the occasion for their rookie quarterback in Seattle. Payton was a little slow getting there, but he eventually took accountability for his and his coaching staff's inability to game-plan Nix into favorable situations.
Payton took some criticism for blaming the offensive line, receivers, and the Broncos' inability to establish the run game in Seattle. Nix took his lumps, too, for what it's worth, but the early drops and lack of separation by the receivers definitely made life harder on the rookie.
Throw in the Broncos' offensive line consistently allowing interior pressure and failing to get a push on the ground, and the Seahawks had orchestrated the perfect storm to foil a rookie making his debut in the NFL's regular season. But excuses are like... well... elbows (?). Everybody's got one.
Lombardi is confident that the Broncos' offensive line will bounce back against the stiff competition of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. Starting right guard Quinn Meinerz, who had a particularly bad Week 1, has nowhere to go but up, both in pass protection and as a run blocker. But the Broncos paid him for a reason.
“We have a lot of confidence in the [offensive] line," Lombardi said. "Quinn, he’s such a mauler, sometimes he can be a little over-aggressive and get in front of his skis a little bit. He’ll learn from that. He’s a great player, obviously, and he had a great camp. So I think for whatever reason—and you have these days sometimes—we just went out collectively and played poorly. [I] expect us to bounce back.”
For his part, Nix recognizes the formidable challenge the Steelers present. But the rookie is looking forward to it.
“Well, it’s definitely a challenge. They have great players," Nix said of the Steelers on Wednesday. "They’ve been a great defense for a long time. I [have] a lot of respect for them. [It’s] going to be fun playing them for the first time and seeing what it’s like."
