For the third consecutive season, Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is off to a slow start — though this year, the leeway he’s getting, both internally and externally, seems different.
With the Broncos sitting at 3-2 headed into a primetime Week 6 home game against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football, Nix is under fire after seeming lost in the offense, as if he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
That led ESPN’s Dan Graziano to speculate that the Broncos might not have much patience for letting Nix work things out if their season starts to go down the tubes.
“I wonder how long the Broncos will go with Bo Nix if he doesn’t start playing better,” Graziano wrote on October 14. “They made the playcaller change for Week 5 and it didn’t seem to work, so you start to wonder if the problem isn’t the plays but the player.”
The Broncos have already made one big change on offense — head coach Sean Payton took playcalling duties away from offensive coordinator Webb Davis after the Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
“The Broncos play calling isn’t the issue,” Pick-a-Side Pod’s Joel Moran wrote on his official X account. “Bo Nix is the issue. Bailing out of clean pockets, turning down throws. This is terrible QB play.”
Bo Nix Addressed Struggles in Bizarre Fashion
Nix made bizarre comments about his struggles speaking with the media on Tuesday — including that how he played was a matter of perception. Like we are just imagining that he looks horrible.
“Playing good and playing bad, it’s a narrative,” Nix said. “I think it’s honestly something we make up.”
Please believe Nix playing bad isn’t a narrative — he’s really been a dumpster fire.
According to Pro Football Focus, Nix is second in the NFL with 11 turnover-worthy plays through 5 games.
“What we have to compare with Bo is what he put on tape last year,” former NFL wide receiver and Denver sports radio host Dave Logan said on Monday. “For whatever the reason, and there are probably several reasons, you don’t see that same guy. I don’t see him really move exactly the way my mind tells me he moved last year.”
Lingering Injury Might Impact Bo Nix’s Play
It’s worth pointing out that Nix is coming off a serious injury suffered in last year’s AFC Divisional Round — a fractured ankle that required multiple surgeries and likely cost the Broncos a spot in the Super Bowl.
Benching Nix before midseason would also rob Denver of his best football — anyone who has watched the Broncos play in his first two seasons knows he’s been at his best down the stretch.
Want great, late-season Bo? You have to put up with terrible, early-season Bo. What’s different about 2026 vs. the first two seasons is that the Broncos’ defense hasn’t been able to cover for his mistakes as they have in the past.
It’s also worth pointing out that were the Broncos to bench Nix, the option to replace him would be Jarrett Stidham — in no universe is that an improvement.
“Maybe I’m just being optimistic, but I loved what Sean Payton and Bo Nix had to say today,” Sleeper Broncos wrote on its official X account. “If the offense has a good showing on TNF, we may go back when the season is over and point to this week where things turned around.”
Broncos Predicted to Bench QB Bo Nix: ‘Problem Isn’t the Plays but the Player’