Bo Nix hadn’t played in a football game and not been a starter since eighth grade, he told reporters this past week.
He came off the bench Sunday, but he hopes that’s a temporary feeling.
Nix, the Denver Broncos’ rookie first-round draft pick, is battling Jarrett Stidham to be the team’s starter. Stidham got the start in Sunday’s preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts, with Nix taking over late in the first quarter.
Nix had a few mistakes but he played well. He outplayed Stidham, though Nix had more playing time and more drives against players down further on the Colts’ defensive depth chart. Nix completed 15 of 21 passes for 125 yards and four of his five drives ended in points.
On the other side there was some quarterback intrigue too. The Colts’ Anthony Richardson returned for his first game action since suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 5 last season. The best news for Colts fans is Richardson got out of the game healthy.
Stidham has a shot to begin the season as the Broncos’ starter, though it seems like a foregone conclusion that Nix will start at some point as a rookie. Nix was the 12th pick of the draft, the long-term answer for the Broncos and hopefully for the franchise, a long-awaited solution at QB. Nix is certainly in the mix to start the regular-season opener against the Seahawks in Seattle, especially after an impressive preseason debut.
Stidham can keep the job as long as he can if he plays well, and he was decent in the preseason opener.
Stidham went 4-of-7 for 37 passing yards. Stidham had an interception, but that wasn’t his fault. He threw a good pass to running back Samaje Perine, who looked upfield before he secured the ball. He bobbled it, batted it up in the air and cornerback Kenny Moore II picked it off. You can’t blame that on Stidham. He was reasonable in his brief action, even if he didn’t excite anyone.
Right place. Right time for 2️3️: #DENvsIND on @NFLNetwork: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/8bxVLNUJtq
NFL (@NFL) August 11, 2024
Unfortunately for Stidham, that was his last action. Nix took over after that, with 3:11 left in the first quarter.
Nix had a rough start. His first pass, with pass rushers near his feet, was a hurried and ill-advised throw. It led tight end Greg Dulcich too much and it should have been intercepted. It fell incomplete instead. Nix’s second throw was a short hop on the move to Lil’Jordan Humphrey for another incompletion.
Finally, Nix got his first completion. It was a nice play, moving to his left to avoid the rush on third-and-10, then hitting Courtland Sutton on the sideline for 22 yards and a first down. That seemed to give him some confidence.
Nix’s day would have been better if Josh Reynolds would have hauled in a deep pass in the end zone. It was a good throw, but Reynolds couldn’t bring it in against the cornerback. It should still be a positive mark for Nix on the throw.
Nix got his first NFL touchdown pass later in the second quarter. On third-and-goal, he faked the handoff, pulled it back and hit Marvin Mims Jr. in the end zone for the score. It was a strong accurate throw.
The fake. The throw. The TD.: #DENvsIND on @NFLNetwork: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/hRZOHxbXGE
NFL (@NFL) August 11, 2024
Nix had a shot to run the two-minute drill at the end of the first half and make a big impression, and he got the Broncos in field-goal range thanks to a defensive pass interference penalty on a deep pass. Denver scored three times on Nix’s four first-half possessions. The other possession ended in a fumble that wasn’t Nix’s fault. Broncos head coach Sean Payton had Nix begin the second half and he led a touchdown drive.
There were some mistakes, like a fumbled center-quarterback exchange and some rushed throws. Overall it was a promising performance with some things to clean up, which is a good result for a rookie preseason debut.
The Broncos have to figure out if they want Nix to sit and develop, or they’re willing to live with some mistakes early on while he learns. Based on what we saw Sunday, there’s not much reason for the Broncos to start anyone other than Nix in Week 1.
There wasn’t much to take from Richardson’s outing. He almost threw an interception on his first series, but the Broncos couldn’t pull it in. He threw inaccurately on a third down to Kylen Granson, and even though Granson caught it, the poor placement of the ball prevented the tight end from getting upfield and gaining the first down.
Richardson threw just four passes, completing two for 25 yards. The good news is his arm strength looked fine coming off shoulder surgery. He didn’t throw deep but had good velocity on the throws he made. That was good enough for a brief preseason outing.
The Colts and Broncos are in different spots at quarterback, but both will use August to answer some questions at the position. For the Broncos, the questions are a little more complicated.