John Elway on Bo Nix: ‘The sky’s the limit for him’

Bo Nix is ready for prime time. At least the NFL seems to think so.

On Friday, the NFL announced a change to its schedule for Week 16. Instead of the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns squaring off in the Thursday night game on Dec. 19, the Denver Broncos-Los Angeles Chargers contest will take that spot.

Through its first 11 games this season, Denver has made one prime-time appearance on national television – a 33-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 17 in a Thursday night game.

After the Broncos play the Las Vegas Raiders at noon CST Sunday, Denver will make another prime-time appearance on Dec. 2. The Broncos and Browns will play at 7:15 p.m. Dec. 2 in the Week 13 Monday game.

The quarterback who spent his NFL career playing in big games for Denver has noted what Nix has done to keep the Broncos in the chase for a wild-card playoff spot.

“Bo’s got all the tools,” Elway said during an appearance this week on “The Adam Schefter Podcast,” “and I think in today’s game, as you know, even though you can get by without the movement, it sure is an added bonus to be able to move around, extend plays like Bo’s been able to do. I think the sky’s the limit for him, and I think he’s just going to continue to get better and better the more comfortable he gets.”

Nix has started every game since the Broncos chose him at No. 12 in the NFL Draft on April 25. Denver has a 6-5 record, giving Nix the franchise record for victories as a starter for a rookie QB.

Elway had shared the record with four victories among his 10 starts in 1983 after entering the NFL as the No. 1 pick. Elway remained the Broncos’ quarterback through the 1998 season. During his Pro Football Hall of Fame career, Elway played with Denver in the Super Bowl five times.

Elway said Broncos coach Sean Payton has guided Nix to a strong start.

“I think it’s a great combination of a couple of things,” Elway said. “No. 1, Bo Nix, his maturity level, his skill level, his experience that he had in college football. I think he started over 60 games in college, so I think the experience level that he got was tremendous. But I’ve been someone who really believes in these young quarterbacks having a coach that can walk them through that first year. And that’s where I think a lot of the credit goes to Sean and that staff and the situations they’ve put him in. No. 1, the Broncos are playing tremendous defense. … Therefore they haven’t been put in situations offensively where they had to put the whole burden on Bo’s shoulders. They’ve been able to run the football, play-action off it, keep Bo in situations that he can handle.

“And as you watch as the season goes on, Sean keeps giving him more and more each week because he can handle more, so I think it’s a great combination of coaching on Sean’s part and his staff as well as Bo’s maturity level, experience level. He’s done a tremendous job and it’s exciting to see the Broncos playing the way they’re playing.”

A former Pinson Valley High School and Auburn quarterback, Nix was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for October, and, on Wednesday, he was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 11 of the season.

After his career, Elway served as the Broncos’ general manager from 2011 through 2020. Despite his ties to the franchise, though, Elway said he had not met Nix.

“If I could help him in any way, I’d like to,” Elway said. “But, obviously, he’s getting great tutelage now with the coaching he’s got and the situation he’s in, so I look forward to meeting him. But like I said, it’s probably more my fault than anything else because once I retired again from football, it’s kind of been nice to kind of get away from it, and I haven’t had a chance to get over there and meet him.”