John Elway reveals why he has not spoken to Bo Nix amid Broncos QB's historic rookie season
After their gut-wrenching 16-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 10, the Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos bounced back with a comfortable 38-6 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The rookie quarterback had a historic outing to lead the Broncos to victory.
The 24-year-old signal-caller completed 26 of his 33 attempts for 307 passing yards and four touchdowns. He became the first rookie in NFL history to throw for over 300 yards and four or more touchdowns while completing at least 80% of their pass attempts in a game.
Broncos icon John Elway has been thoroughly impressed with Nix's incredible debut season and predicted he'll be a franchise cornerstone for years to come. During an appearance on "The Adam Schefter Podcast" on Tuesday, he said:
"Bo's got all the tools... I think the sky's the limit for him and he's going to continue to get better and better." [From 0:00]
When Schefter asked whether he had an opportunity to talk to Nix and share his insight, Elway said he hadn't and took responsibility for it. He said:
"I could help him anyway. I'd like to. But obviously he's getting great tutelage now with the coaching he's got in the situations he's in, so I look forward to meeting him. But like I said, it's probably more my fault than anything else, because once I retired again from football, it's kind of been nice to kind of get away from it, and I haven't had a chance to get over there and meet him." [From 1:09]
Sean Payton praises Bo Nix after historic Falcons performance
Since Peyton Manning's penultimate year in the NFL in 2014, the Broncos haven't had noteworthy production from the quarterback position. They handed starts to 15 different quarterbacks in an eight-season span from 2015 to 2023, but none played well enough to earn the job long-term.
Head coach Sean Payton believed Bo Nix would be the answer to their quarterback conundrum and drafted the former Oregon star 12th overall. Not everyone was on board with it, but 11 weeks into the season, the rookie has silenced his doubters.
After Nix's historic performance against the Falcons, Broncos coach Sean Payton praised his rookie QB for his quick development.
"He's certainly settled in -- third down, red zone, there are a lot of things he did really well [Sunday] night," Payton said per ESPN. " ... It's our league; you're learning each week, pretty soon you're like, 'I belong here.' And it's clear he belongs here."
Through 11 games, he has 2,275 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns, six interceptions, 295 rushing yards, and four rushing touchdowns. After shaky performances in Weeks 1 and 2, he has been among the best quarterbacks in the league. He has tossed only two picks in his last nine outings, thrown for 14 touchdowns, and scored three by himself.