There are few media personalities working today with more of a smarmy, “I Told You So” persona than ESPN’s Ben Solak.
Solak, it seems, is all for kicking a man while he’s down. Or, in the case of Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, kicking a man while he’s sitting out the AFC Championship Game with a fractured ankle after leading his team to a thrilling overtime win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round.
From the start of his career, Solak has been a vocal critic of Nix. This week, he took the opportunity of backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham starting against the Patriots on Sunday to do it again. This time he just did it in a really passive aggressive way.
“A roller coaster ride (with Nix) implies some degrees of ups,” Solak said on The Ringer NFL Show on Thursday. “I would say I’ve been mostly just in the tunnel with Bo Nix and with Broncos fans, which when he was out of Oregon, I was like a pro-Bo Nix guy. I was like, this is pretty solid dude, so second round (pick) or whatever. So pretty much from the start, Broncos fans haven’t liked my read on the guy. ”
Nix was the No. 12 overall pick by the Broncos in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. Through his first 2 seasons, Nix has led the Broncos to 2 playoff appearances. He’s also the first QB in NFL history with 20-plus wins, over 7,500 yards of total offense and 50-plus touchdowns in his first 2 seasons.
Nix Isn’t What Drives Broncos Offense
Solak continues to insist that when the Broncos have had success on offense with Nix, it’s not because of him. It’s just the system.
“You know, Bo Nix has played well, but he’s not the thing that drives this Broncos team, that drives this Broncos offense,” Solak said. ” … there is a difference between how good is the quarterback qualitatively, how well is he playing within the offense. What they ask (Nix) to do, he’s good at doing that. He knows how to play within himself … Broncos fans start saying, all right, do you think that Caleb Williams is better than Nix? Why do you rank Justin Herbert ahead of Nix? And that’s where you lose me.”
No One Loves Drake Maye More Than Solak
While Solak already has his PhD in being a World Class Hater, it’s also important to remember no one — no one — has carried the water more for Patriots quarterback Drake Maye than Solak has over the last 2 years.
Following the 2024 season, Solak left Nix off his All-Rookie Team in favor of Maye despite Nix outpacing Maye in every important statistical category for a quarterback and leading Denver to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season — and doing it with a broken back.
Maye was the second team quarterback behind Jayden Daniels, who was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“It was very difficult to exclude Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, who improved over the course of the season and looks like a long-term starter,” Solak wrote. “While Nix outproduced Maye in raw stats, it is worth noting that Maye was better by success rate and first down/touchdown rate, indicating a high level of efficiency — despite getting pressured on 37.3% of his dropbacks compared to Nix’s 28.0%.”
ESPN Analyst Continues to Take Shots at Broncos QB Bo Nix