The Denver Broncos are on a two-game winning streak and, perhaps not coincidentally, rookie quarterback Bo Nix has no turnovers and no sacks during that two-game stretch.
This marks the first time since 2016 that the Broncos have gone two straight games without their quarterback taking a sack. Russell Wilson certainly never managed such a feat in Denver. Neither did Teddy Bridgewater, nor Drew Lock, nor Brandon Allen, nor Joe Flacco, nor Case Keenum … you get the idea.
The offensive line obviously deserves credit for keeping Nix upright, and the quarterback has praised the unit for their protection.
“That was huge,” Nix said Sunday when asked about not being sacked. “It starts with up front. They picked up everything. I wasn’t ever really running around, had a good pocket all day. And I think it helped that we were able to run the ball, and they were kind of getting on their heels a little bit. It just sets up the pass when you can run it and get to manageable third downs, manageable second down and shorts, that’s where you want to be as an offense, and that’s what we did. That’s why we moved the ball better in the second half.”
The offensive line has certainly played well, but coach Sean Payton credits Nix for the team’s two-game streak without allowing a sack.
“I think the sacks statistic by and large is more a quarterback statistic than an offensive line statistic,” Payton said Monday. “There’s some quarterbacks that are more difficult to protect for and some that aren’t. We saw all the time on college tape [that] he was someone that got rid of the ball. It would become frustrating to rush if you will because of his ability to throw it away or to flush and find an answer or an incompletion. It’s something that he’s done well throughout his career.
“Then certainly with the offensive line, that’s a pretty good front we just played. There were a handful of match up concerns and protections issues that we discussed. If you said to me when the game ended that he was not going to have any sacks and Aaron [Rodgers] would have five, I would’ve felt that was a little challenging.”
Overall, Nix has four sacks through the first four games of the year, the lowest total for a Denver quarterback through the first four weeks since 2014. If he protects the ball and avoids pressure, Nix will continue to trend in the right direction for the Broncos.
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