After Broncos rookie Bo Nix finished his audition to be the team’s starting quarterback, boos fell like rain in his new home stadium. Welcome to Denver, Bo. The peeps love you here in Broncos Country.
At least for now. And for one very compelling reason. You’re not Russell Wilson.
With 6 minutes, 19 seconds, remaining in the second quarter, after Nix had looked nifty against Green Bay subs in a Sunday night dress rehearsal, the home crowd felt the urge to boo a quarterback for old time’s sake. Oh, the ire wasn’t directed at Nix. He is the state’s new favorite son.
There's a refreshing naivete in his eyes. The rook's eyes burn bright enough with potential to return a little glow to a franchise that's been lost in the darkness for eight long years. Nix got his work done early, with a Grade A effort, albeit against less than top-tier NFL talent.
But even after retiring to the Denver sideline, Nix seemed reluctant to take his helmet off and replace it with a ballcap, like the new QB on the block hoped some way, some how, coach Sean Payton might put him back in the game. "We're all just kids at heart, having fun, playing football," he said. Nix left no doubt he will be under center when Denver opens the regular season next month, after completing eight of nine passes and leading two methodical scoring drives to get the Broncos rolling to a 27-2 preseason victory over bored-and-cranky Packers who looked as if they couldn’t wait to get out of Denver, baby.
But my favorite part of this summer evening arrived a little past the midway point of the second quarter. That’s when a genius in the stadium operations crew with a wicked sense of snark put North America’s tallest video board to priceless use. What visual delight flashed on the giant screen at that moment? A highlight from an exhibition tilt between Buffalo and Pittsburgh.
It showed Wilson going down in a heap while wearing a Steelers uniform after taking a sack against the Bills defense. That was a sight for sore eyes among Broncomaniacs that know how to hold a grudge. Given a chance to see Wilson buried alive on a football field in another NFL city, many Denver fans lustily shouted: Boo! Translation: DangeRuss is the problem of yinz in the Steel City now.
Cry you a river of Yuengling beer. Here in Denver, it’s the summer of love for Nix. The rookie from Oregon has done everything in his power to justify the Broncos “reaching” for him with the No.
12 overall pick in the NFL draft. All it took Nix to be the guy was seven drives over the course of two auditions. He never took a sack.
He never went three-and-out. The Broncos put points on the scoreboard in six of the seven chances that Nix had to shine. His cumulative QB rating after fine exhibitions against Indianapolis and Green Bay was a sweet 121.
5. Yes, he did throw for a modest 205 yards on 30 attempts, so maybe Nix isn’t ready for a shootout with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. Truth be told, Nix tends to be boringly efficient.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. His approach to take what the defense gives him and move the chains offers a cool-jazz vibe. And that’s welcome to the frayed nerves of diehards in these parts after the hair-on-fire, throw-that-baby-with-the-bathwater chaos Wilson inflicted on Denver, leaving permanent scars on all our memories.
Nix has the Denver offense looking as if it could make some beautiful noise. "The band sounds pretty good. I'm not dancing," Payton said.
"Listen, there's a lot of things we did well as a team. I'm not announcing a starter. I'll get with you when we do.
" All that’s left for Payton to do is make it official. Given good health, Nix should start all 17 regular-season games as a rookie, including the home-opener on Sept. 15, when the Steelers visit Empower Field at Mile High.
And know the only bummer about that situation? Wilson has looked so wretched in Pittsburgh, I’m afraid he won’t be the starting QB for the Steelers in Week 2, denying the Broncomaniacs the opportunity to tell Mr. Unlimited how they really feel about him in person. After 61 starts in college from Auburn to Oregon, what Nix brings to the Broncos is the ready-for-prime-time comfort that Paxton Lynch never instilled in teammates or paying customers.
Unless you’re drinking all the Orange Kool-Aid, it’s hard to project Nix will ever be the equal of Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen. The worst that can be said about Nix? He’s so mature that there might not be a big growth spurt left in his game. How high is the ceiling of Nix? Well, he’s already better than Raiders starter Gardner Minshew, although that’s far from an assurance Nix can unseat Justin Herbert as the second-best quarterback in the AFC West.
But there’s little doubt Nix can lend a hand to pick up this woebegone franchise off its keister. For starters, that's not too shabby..
