Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix and wide receiver Troy Franklin were teammates at Oregon, connecting 142 times for 2,274 yards and 23 touchdowns from 2022-2023.
Franklin was one of Nix’s favorite deep targets with the Ducks as the receiver averaged 17.1 yards per reception last fall. Surprisingly, their connection in college has not translated to the NFL, at least not yet.
Nix has repeatedly failed to connect with Franklin on deep throws in 2024. The latest example came on 3rd-and-6 in overtime of Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Needing a field goal to win or a tie to clinch a playoff spot with just over five minutes remaining, Nix overthrew Franklin and the Broncos had to punt. The Bengals went on to win the game 30-24 with a touchdown.
Losing sleep over the inability from Bo Nix to hit Troy Franklin. It’s insane they played together and it’s this bad.
pic.twitter.com/jaqMgC2Xgo— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) December 29, 2024
Nix was asked about the incompletion after the game.
“You play the whole game and you get to these opportunities, and I gotta hit those,” Nix said. “That’s what NFL quarterbacks do. I’m going to continue to work until I hit those and not put my team in that position. I feel like I kind of let them down.”
#BroncosCountry LIVE: QB Bo Nix meets the media after #DENvsCIN https://t.co/uYWzNlWian
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 29, 2024
Nix was also asked about the team’s decision to kick an extra point to send the game to overtime instead of going for two and a potential win.
“I definitely want the ball and a chance to win the game,” Nix said, “[but] we had a chance in overtime to do that, and I missed that one. It was a good decision by us to kick the field goal and play for overtime. We had stopped them enough to feel good about it. We thought we could move the ball in overtime, but we didn’t.”
Denver remains just one win (or tie) away from clinching a spot in the NFL playoffs. Now the team has one game remaining — an AFC West showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs at home in Week 18.
“It’s been like this for two weeks,” Nix said. “So you just have to put everything in to go win the game.”
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