There was no mistaking them, a groan that spread from upper seats to lower seats as the second half drug on. And when the dust settled on a 10-7 Broncos win Thursday night, the boo birds came out at Empower Field about as many times as Bo Nix threw second-half completions.
They booed the offense. They also booed him, their second-year quarterback who was high in public favor less than two weeks ago. Nix finished 16-of-28 passing for 150 yards, a touchdown and two picks against a Las Vegas team that he praised but entered as one of the worst pass defenses in the league. His 54.2 QB rating was his worst of the season and second-worst of his Broncos career.
“I’ve been booed before,” Nix said postgame. “And I’ll be booed again. Not going to be the last time.”
True. And yet the swing of Nix’s season continues to confound, his confidence ebbing and flowing with each week. Week 10 brought the skittish version of Nix that Denver saw too often in a 1-2 start. National media leveled the gavel on Nix after a sloppy prime-time game, with former Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe even chiming in.
“WTF is Bo doing 2nite?” Sharpe tweeted. “It’s like he’s never played the gm b4.”
Like almost every other game this season, though, Nix’s overall performance was ultimately a mixed bag. A review of the tape shows he exacerbated many of Denver’s offensive issues. He also wasn’t at fault for many of them. Here are some key themes from his 29 dropbacks Thursday night.
Nix gestured at himself to calm down
On second-and-12 from the Raiders’ 14-yard line late in the third quarter, tight end Evan Engram swam past a defender on a nice route toward the left corner of the end zone. There was a sliver of a window for a score, if Nix uncorked a throw that led Engram toward the pylon.
Nix stepped up, cocked back, and … pulled the ball back down.
When he fired a split second later, his momentum was a mess. With no power in his feet, Nix’s throw spiked a few yards short of Engram. And as he turned away, Nix stretched out both hands and pushed the air in front of him down slightly, as if to tell himself Calm down.
Watch Bo Nix at end of this 3Q miss to Evan Engram. Double-pumped, left this way short, he knew it.
Can see him miming putting his hands down. Almost looks like a “calm down” at himself pic.twitter.com/DVwOM3KCss
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) November 7, 2025
No single dropback was more emblematic of Nix’s night, punctuated by a double-pump throw on a screen to receiver Troy Franklin the very next play. Nix rarely stepped up and hung in the pocket to take hits on Thursday night. He often played skittishly.
Nix’s tendency to avoid sacks is one of his great skills and often an asset to Payton’s offense. It helped on certain reps Thursday, like on a 7-yard dump-off to RJ Harvey in the third quarter when reserve right guard Calvin Throckmorton got smoked before a deep route to Engram could develop. But too often, Nix’s conservative play was a detractor.
He missed wide-open shots in the middle of the field to Courtland Sutton and Pat Bryant, a continued theme. And on third-and-12 from Denver’s 7-yard line, Nix floated backwards behind a slowly advancing pocket and flung an out past Bryant.
The problem: The Raiders had no safety help for a streaking Franklin, who could’ve had a 93-yard touchdown if Nix had seen him and hung in the pocket for a couple of beats.
#BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/gNGAJQ4x5P
— Tim Jenkins (@TJenkinsElite) November 7, 2025
Dysfunction too often killed vibe
For a change, Nix was drastically better in the first half than he was in the second. That’s something, at least. The problem: He had little help getting into a rhythm. And at this point, it’s become clear that Nix is a rhythm player.
In a notable emphasis, Denver and head coach Sean Payton went no-huddle on three of Nix’s first eight dropbacks. Again, Payton has said before that Nix likes tempo early. Clearly, Payton and the Broncos tried to get him in a flow. But two consecutive no-huddle looks in the middle of the second quarter went fruitless, as nobody got open for Nix on third-and-3 from his 10-yard line. He scrambled against pressure, contorted his body, and uncorked a fluttering strike to Evan Engram down the left sideline.
It was the type of completion that could’ve turned Nix loose. But Engram dove and couldn’t come up with the ball.
Nix’s night could’ve looked different, too, if the Broncos had finished off an end-of-first-half push that washed all momentum heading into halftime. On the drive, after Denver got on the board with a short touchdown from Nix to Franklin, running back Tyler Badie dropped a promising first-down screen pass. A play later, Bryant was dinged for a (dubious) offensive pass-interference call, nullifying a 13-yard strike on a dig from Nix. Two plays later, after a brilliant ball to Sutton to convert a third-and-13, offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey was dinged for a false start to set Denver back five more yards.
Nix was dancing. And his offense shot him in the foot, repeatedly. On an incompletion later to Franklin, Nix rolled away on third-and-15 and uncorked a veritable arm-punt that got picked off. Denver wound up with no points on a promising drive, and Nix didn’t look like the same guy from this point forward.
Bo Nix picked off deep by Kelley with 27 seconds left in the half, huge swing before the break. pic.twitter.com/IC5ZOOPMSW
— Aggregate Sports (@AggregateSports) November 7, 2025
The Oregon (deep) connection isn’t working
Speaking of Franklin.
A play before the arm-punt, Nix dropped back on first-and-15 and reared back for an anticipation throw on a deep out to Franklin. He was cocked and firing before Franklin went into his break, the type of throw Nix normally lets off to Sutton. It was further evidence of Franklin’s evolution in Denver’s offense. He has 37 targets in the last four weeks, while Sutton has 26.
As Nix let it rip, though, Franklin stopped and appeared to almost angle back toward the formation, caught somewhere between an out and a comeback. If Franklin had taken a hard 90-degree angle on a true out-route, he would’ve had a chance to reach up and snag a big gain. Instead, Nix’s throw ended up high and Franklin could only wave a hand at it.
Bo Nix + Troy Franklin just didn’t look on same page much of yesterday.
1st-and-15 in first half, anticipation ball, Nix throws this before Franklin even goes into break. Franklin kinda angles back to the ball here. Looks like Nix expected more of a hard out.
Ends up high. pic.twitter.com/XF0Lbfr4i1
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) November 7, 2025
They had several more evident miscommunications on the day, in a troubling trend. Nix aired one out for Franklin in the fourth quarter, but both he and Franklin got caught somewhere between a comeback and a ball in stride; the receiver stopped short and leapt in futility like an outfielder trying to rob a home run. Both of Nix’s picks came on targets to Franklin, and the second came on a slant where Franklin looked like he was expecting the ball to go to Bryant nearby.
BO NIX INTERCEPTION, THIS GAME IS A MESS. pic.twitter.com/19V21InvAm
— Aggregate Sports (@AggregateSports) November 7, 2025
Nix and Franklin are now 5 for 34 on passes of 20-plus yards since both entered the league in 2024. Something isn’t clicking.
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