Jake Plummer isn’t doing the “aw shucks, fans can do what they want” routine anymore. Not when the Denver Broncos are winning and the home crowd is still raining down boos.
In a recent Denver Post column, Plummer took aim at Broncos fans who booed during a game in which Denver was trying to lock down postseason positioning, and he made it clear he thinks the outrage is backwards. His clean version: fans need to “check yourself.” His real version, describing what players want to say when their own stadium turns on them: “(Bleep) you!”
That’s the kind of quote that lights up sports radio for a week, and it also opens up an uncomfortable question Broncos Country doesn’t always want to hear.
If you’re booing a winning team with a young quarterback still developing, what exactly are you booing for?
Why the Boos Hit Different When You’re Actually Winning
The details matter here. The Post column framed it as a game where Denver’s offense sputtered at times — three-and-outs, a choppy rhythm, not enough big plays — and the crowd responded like it was 2022 all over again. That’s the disconnect Plummer is calling out.
Because booing during a lost season is one thing. Booing when you’re sitting on a top-tier record and jockeying for playoff advantage is another. It sends the message that winning isn’t the standard; winning pretty is.
And that’s where this gets messy: fans don’t buy tickets to watch punts. They buy tickets to feel something. But when the crowd decides the only acceptable feeling is “highlight-reel offense,” it turns every conservative drive into an indictment of the quarterback.
Plummer’s point isn’t that fans must clap politely through bad series. It’s that the boos are aimed at the wrong target and at the wrong time. The Broncos, in his eyes, finally look like a real team again — tough, connected, and playing for each other — and the home crowd is still acting like it’s open mic night for grievances.
Bo Nix Is Learning, But the Standard Can’t Be “Perfection or You’re Trash”
Plummer also made it clear he’s in Bo Nix’s corner. Not because Nix is flawless. He’s not. But because young quarterbacks don’t become franchise guys by being protected from pressure; they become franchise guys by surviving it.
Here’s the part fans need to be honest about: Denver has spent years chewing through quarterbacks. The franchise finally lands on a guy who has won a ton of games early in his career, and the reaction is still suspicion, like Broncos Country is waiting for the other shoe to drop.
That’s not analysis. That’s trauma.
The post-Super Bowl 50 era trained fans to assume the offense will collapse eventually, so every quiet quarter feels like a warning sign. But if you treat every punt like a personal betrayal, you end up turning the stadium into a stress test, not a home-field advantage.
And that’s what Plummer is really raging about. He’s not defending every play call. He’s defending the idea that the home crowd is supposed to be a weapon, not a weight.
What It Means for the Broncos Heading Into the Playoffs
Denver is truly in a rare position — No. 1 seed, legitimate postseason expectations — so of course the vibe at home matters.
A young QB hearing boos after a couple empty possessions isn’t going to crumble publicly. Guys like Nix are trained to say the right things. But teammates notice. Coaches notice. Opponents notice.
The Broncos don’t need blind faith. They need the crowd to stop swinging the emotional pendulum from “Super Bowl!” to “bench him!” based on two drives.
Plummer’s message is basically this: you wanted the Broncos to matter again. Now they do. Act like it.
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