While anyone with two eyes could see that the fourth-quarter fumble that almost cost the Denver Broncos a road win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday was running back Jonah Coleman’s fault, it was still nice of quarterback Bo Nix to try to take some of the blame.
“Sure looked like near disastrous pitch play late in 4Q was on RB Jonah Coleman but QB Bo Nix deflected blame from the rookie and put it on himself,” 9News Denver’s Mike Klis wrote on his official X account on Sunday.
“I got to do a better job pitching him the football; can’t let the ball get on the ground,” Nix said after the 26-21 win. “When it was loose, I was not thinking good things about what if they got it, and all of a sudden that’s the change of the game. I thought Jonah did a great job of just getting back there, hustling and getting on the football.”
The Broncos set the NFL record with their 16th consecutive win in a one-score game — and won their fifth straight game to improve to 7-2.
The fumble could have cost the Broncos the game — a pitch from Nix to Coleman at their own 26-yard line that Coleman tracked down for an 18-yard loss, putting the Broncos on their own 8-yard line before they punted two plays later.
Coleman Given Starting Spot Over Dobbins
Coleman, a 2026 4th-round pick, made his first career start over veteran J.K. Dobbins and impressed again with 17 carries for 57 yards and 1 touchdown, plus 4 receptions for 31 yards.
He also didn’t get credit for the fumble — that went to Nix because it was on a pitch. Which doesn’t seem totally fair or accurate.
The Broncos’ other running back, RJ Harvey, is on injured reserve.
“Sean Payton did not want to talk much about the RB rotation when asked about Jonah Coleman starting over J.K. Dobbins,” DNVR’s Zac Stevens wrote on his official X account on Sunday.
Broncos Seem Like Players at Trade Deadline
Coleman, Dobbins, and Harvey could all be in for a rude awakening with the NFL trade deadline less than 48 hours away and the Broncos very much in the mix to trade for Indianapolis Colts All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor.
According to Stevens, the Broncos are still very much going after Taylor.
“I believe the Broncos are going to do everything in their power to trade for Jonathan Taylor,” DNVR’s Zac Stevens said on November 1. “This could happen at any moment. You might not want to go to sleep Broncos Country. The Broncos are going to try to pull this trade off, from my understanding. They want Jonathan Taylor now.”
Broncos QB Bo Nix Shoulders Blame for Rookie’s ‘Near Disastrous’ Mistake