The Denver Broncos and head coach Sean Payton are riding high with their quarterback, Bo Nix, for their Week 16 schedule flex. They were scheduled to play the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in Week 16 but the Broncos were offered to change the spot to Thursday Night Football.
The 6-5 Broncos have looked solid with their rookie quarterback. However, Week 10’s nail-biter against the Kansas City Chiefs proved to be everything. Even Patrick Mahomes gave Nix an awesome message after pulling a near upset of the previously undefeated Chiefs.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic made a bold prediction about why the Broncos and Payton are rolling with the former Oregon football star.
“Payton knows his team inside and out and believes in Nix’s ability to handle the bright lights of prime time,” Russini said. “Some of it is also to push all his young players to get comfortable with the big moments. Instead of shying away from the spotlight, the Broncos are leaning into it. It’s all part of Payton’s vision.”
How does Sean Payton know that Bo Nix and the Broncos will embrace primetime?
Payton knows a lot about winning, as evidenced by his time with the New Orleans Saints. He went 152-89 during his 16 seasons with the franchise. He won the 2009 Super Bowl with quarterback Drew Brees leading the way. Payton had nine seasons of winning 10+ games as well and had four straight seasons of doing so (2017-2020). His coaching model is still in effect in New Orleans, as evidenced by interim head coach Darren Rizzi.
Also, the Broncos are in Wild Card contention with their record. After Nix’s best performance of his career, he might continue to ride high off of that performance. Luckily, Denver has one primetime game before Week 16. They’ll face the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football in Week 13. The Broncos will have two primetime games under their belt before that division game.
The first Thursday Night Football matchup was pure dominance by Denver. They won against the Saints 33-10 but Nix didn’t have to perform at an elite level. He threw 164 passing yards and had 75 rushing yards. His special teams and defense paved the way for a dominant victory. Fast forward to Week 12 and Nix is looking more comfortable.
Luckily for Nix and Payton, that Week 13 game against the Browns is at home. However, they’ll have to travel to Los Angeles and take on the Chargers. More primetime opportunities could prove useful for the seasons to come for Nix, Payton, and the rest of the Broncos squad.
