Following the Denver Broncos’ big 34-18 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, coach Sean Payton’s immediate reaction to rookie quarterback Bo Nix’s performance was: “I thought he played well.”
One day later, after reviewing the game film, Payton was asked in which areas Nix could improve going into his sixth game in the NFL.
“I think it’s a broad-based question just because he’s young and there’s a number of things,” Payton said on Monday. “We watched the tape this morning, and what we just talked about there might be four plays he’s looking at [saying], ‘I wish we would’ve, I could’ve done this.’ I think overall he’s understanding the game better and better relative to… The amount of personnel groupings for instance that he sees defensively. We’re in nickel; they’re in base. Then they’re in penny; then they’re in nickel. How that impacts protections is much different than when the player is in college. He might go the whole game where he sees dime defense and maybe a few change-ups.
“So he’s doing a real good job with his protections and understanding where he’s short. I think he’s playing with confidence, and every week his feet make some plays for us that are important. I keep getting back to — I think there were two sacks yesterday — but he’s hard to sack. When he plays, you’re not on the cusp of a minus play. He has real good command of what he’s doing. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: we have to keep painting a better picture around him.”
Payton sidestepped the question to some degree, noting there are areas where the QB can improve without specifically addressing what plays the QB could have done better on. The coach continues to praise the rookie for his ability to avoid sacks and make plays with his legs, and he has maintained that coaches and teammates need to set Nix up for success.
After struggling in his first two games, Nix has gone three straight games without an interception, and he has five total touchdowns during that stretch (three passing and two rushing). The rookie QB has plenty of room for improvement, but he’s trending up going into Week 6.
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