Bo Nix is still looking for his first touchdown pass three games into his NFL career, but he got his first win on Sunday.
Nix used his arm wisely and his legs productively as he helped the Denver Broncos upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 26-7, in stunningly dominant fashion on the road.
"We played motivated today," Nix, the No. 12 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, said, via team transcript. "We went out there and executed at a high level. I think that's what it's supposed to feel like. You get back in the locker room, and everybody is really excited. You put so much into the week. You put so much effort, time [and] energy [in]. Those are what those moments are about. That's what you want to get to. You want to get to those postgame celebrations."
Though Nix has yet to throw for a TD, he rushed for a 3-yard score (his second rushing TD of the season) to get the Broncos on the board and on track for their first victory of the season. He passed for 216 yards, completing 25 of 36 passes with zero interceptions and largely played error-free football.
With two interceptions apiece in his prior two games, it was a large improvement, but head coach Sean Payton saw nothing different in the Oregon product's confidence, emphatically dismissing that story line.
"No, no, no, no, no. No, stop, stop. It's fitting your narrative," Payton said, via team transcript. "The kid's been confident. This kid's been through Auburn. He's transferred. He's won, and won, and won, and won. And honestly, I haven't seen him flinch. We all get a little bit more confident with the win but I say that respectfully. He hasn't flinched. I think that we had a good plan. The players did a good job and certainly [Nix] had more fun than he did in prior weeks."
As Nix, who ran for 47 yards on nine carries, had fun, so too did the rest of the squad, showing marked improvement following Denver's 26-20 and 13-6 losses to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2, respectively.
Nix's completions went to nine different receivers. His 69.4 completion percentage and 85.0 passer ratings were night-and-day differences as he entered the game with a 59.7 completion percentage and 51.0 passer rating over the first two weeks.
Historically, the Broncos had never had zero passing touchdowns over their first three games before Nix became the initial first-round QB with zero TD tosses over his first three starts since Alex Smith in 2005 with the San Francisco 49ers (the Washington Commanders' Jayden Daniels can match that on Monday).
That really made no matter to Nix, though, who planned to enjoy the fruits of Sunday's labor for all its worth.
"You only get this moment one time and it's not easy winning games in this league," Nix said. "Our guys deserve this. Our guys have earned this. We have a great team that really battled in there. We were one possession away in both of the first two games, so, just to do what we were able to do today against a really good football team, it gives us a little bit of confidence moving forward. [It's] still a long season, but you have to enjoy these wins when they're here, and it's a great first win."
It's one of many to come, Payton believes, and his confidence in his rookie QB remains Mile High after struggling in two defeats and offering promise in win No. 1.
"I say this, and I mean this, and it's so important, and I include myself and the offensive coaching staff -- it's our job to paint a perfect picture for this player," the head coach said. "And if we do that, and we used to say that about whoever is under [center] -- our job as coaches, as receivers … we have to paint the picture, and when we do that, this guy is going to be something."
