Bo Nix Draws Attention After Broncos Lose in AFC Championship Game

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix faced criticism all season, mostly for having to constantly lead the team to comeback victories, a metric in which the second-year passer led the NFL during the regular season.

However, after the Broncos’ loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship, the tone of the commentary around Nix was different.

It was clear just how much the Broncos missed their starting QB.

Broncos Get Reality Check About Bo Nix After AFC Championship Game Loss

GettyBo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos looks on before a game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

All week, Broncos players and coaches touted the talents of seventh-year veteran Jarrett Stidham, who started in Nix’s place on Sunday. Stidham started well enough, leading the Broncos to a touchdown on Denver’s second offensive drive after a three-and-out on their first.

However, the situation soon unraveled, and Stidham finished with 133 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception on 54.8% completion with 3 sacks taken.

Stidham racked up 52 of those yards on one play during the touchdown series.

“Woulda, coulda, shoulda but Bo Nix’s game would have flourished in the snow,” 9News’ Mike Klis posted on X after the game, joining a chorus of sentiments expressing some level of frustration over the Broncos’ circumstances.

Nix suffered a broken bone in his ankle against the Buffalo Bills during the AFC Wild Card Playoffs that required surgery and ended his season.

Nix was in attendance for the game and drew attention just by being there.

Still, noting his absence from the contest that ended in a 10-7 final–and with the Broncos heading into the offseason–was commonplace. Stidham’s performance only underscored all that Nix can do and does for the Broncos when healthy.

“The question will always loom: What would have happened if Bo Nix didn’t get hurt,” DNVR’s Zac Stevens posted on X.

James Palmer of The Athletic and Bleacher Report noted the difficulty from Nix’s perspective.

“All Bo Nix can do is shake his head as he rides a scooter onto the elevator at Mile High,” Palmer said in his post on X after the game. “What a season for the second year QB and the Broncos.”

Bo Nix Gets ‘Flowers’ After AFC Championship Game

GettyBo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos celebrates after defeating the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Playoff.

Nix finished the regular season with a league-leading 612 pass attempts, completing 63.4% of his throws for 3,931 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.

His value to the Broncos goes beyond the raw numbers, though.

“If Bo Nix plays in this game, I think it’s a completely different story. Just based off of the fact you saw with their young quarterback had to do today to win the game, and Drake Maye had 10 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown. And to me, when the weather goes bad like that, that’s where Bo would have shined, and keeping those plays alive,” Bennie Fowler said on the “DNVR Broncos Podcast” postgame.

“It was a tall task for Stiddy anyway. But you think–you can only just imagine if Bo plays in this game, what happens in this game. It’s just unfortunate. So, that’s my immediate, first takeaway, is what if both teams are healthy?”

Co-host Ryan Koenigsberg took it a step further, declaring that Nix is “special,” that it was “time to give Bo Nix his flowers,” and that the “Bo Nix era has only just begun.”

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