Despite the injury, any lingering questions prognosticators may have about Bo Nix were answered after impressive playoff win.
Few outside of the Mile High City believed the Denver Broncos would be able to compete against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills this weekend. A lot of that criticism centered around Bo Nix and the Broncos’ offense.
There were reasons why the Broncos were able to pull out an exciting 33-30 overtime win on Saturday. The five turnovers clearly kept the game close as the defense was not able to stop Allen on any drive outside of the turnover drives. He took his team to a score on every other drive. The other reason was none other than Bo freaking Nix.
Denver’s run game was nonexistent with just 10 total rushes by running backs. The other 58 offensive plays was a Bo Nix pass or a Bo Nix run. He finished 26/46 for 279 yards and three touchdowns and added another 29 yards on 12 carries. That means 85% of the offensive plays were centered around Nix. He put the offense on his shoulders and they won in overtime because of it.
According to Next Gen Stats, Nix outperformed Allen where it mattered the most — the big play. On deep passing with 20+ air yards, Nix was 3/4 for 84 yards and two touchdowns, while Allen went 0/9 with two interceptions.
Every reason given for the doubt on Nix last week was centered around how great Josh Allen is and how much playoff experience he has had in his career. And I agree, Josh Allen is a great quarterback, but how can these same people try to say Bo Nix isn’t?
On the season, Nix finished with 4,595 total yards, 33 total touchdowns, and a 15-3 record as a starter. Not bad for a second-year guy. He also became the first player in NFL history to have over 7,500 passing yards, 750 rushing yards, and a playoff win in his first two seasondd.
The injury to Bo Nix is as brutal as it gets. Given how much Nix has done to help Denver win these close games all season long, it should give us all a lot to worry about with Jarrett Stidham taking over for the AFC Championship Game. I like Stiddy a lot, but how does anyone replace the kind of clutch plays Bo has made all season long with the game on the line?
It will take a huge effort from every player on the team to keep the season going another week. The defensive struggles will need to be figured out and the offense will need to find its absent running game. Those things could certainly happen, but one thing is clear to me and that is anyone who says Bo Nix “ain’t it” should be pretty quiet moving forward.
And if those critics aren’t silenced by this performance and the body of work all season long, then they are just stupid. Sorry, not sorry.
Category: General Sports
