The Denver Broncos’ Thursday night matchup against the Seattle Seahawks was expected to be a high-scoring affair, but it turned into a defensive slugfest instead.
Denver improved to 4-2 with the win, while Seattle fell to 3-3. But both quarterbacks, Bo Nix and Sam Darnold, struggled throughout the game and faced criticism for their performances.
NFL analyst Skip Bayless was among those unimpressed and delivered a harsh verdict on both QBs.
Skip Bayless Blasts Bo Nix and Sam Darnold After Seahawks-Broncos
Nix completed 17 of 27 passes for just 107 yards in Thursday’s game. He added only two yards on four carries and currently ranks No. 29 in the NFL with a PFN QB Impact Score of 66.5.
Darnold had his own struggles against Denver’s defense, taking five sacks and 17 hits. He has thrown seven interceptions through five games this season and has been sacked five times in each of his last two outings. He ranks No. 26 in the NFL with a PFN QB Impact Score of 69.1.
With both quarterbacks struggling, Bayless shared his blunt take on their performances during the latest episode of the “Gridiron” podcast, calling Darnold “Same Darnold” and Nix “Boo Nix.”
“It was one of the ugliest quarterback versus quarterback games I have ever witnessed,” Bayless said. “The statute of limitations has run out. Enough is enough. He is Same Darnold. He is back, and he’s as bad as ever.
“He is now leading the NFL in interceptions thrown… Duh? What did we expect? He led the NFL in turnovers during the regular season last year, and he threw you two late in the game that obviously changed the game in your favor,” the analyst added.
“Meanwhile, I had to watch Sam Darnold vs. Boo Nix, and Boo Nix should have been booed off the field at home last night. It was arguably the all-time worst Denver quarterback performance in the history of your franchise.”
Bayless directed much of his criticism toward Nix, whose passing numbers and decision-making have raised concerns this season.
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Among 701 qualifying quarterback seasons through six games over the past 20 years, Nix ranks last in average air yards per attempt at just 4.9.
Another stat highlighted Nix’s struggles in a key game situation. Since 2014, teams leading with six minutes or less remaining in the fourth quarter have run 16,178 offensive plays, including 4,347 quarterback dropbacks.
Nix was the only quarterback in that span to run out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage on one of those dropbacks, doing so against Seattle.
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After watching Nix’s performance, Bayless questioned whether Denver could make a deep playoff run this season.
“I’m not going to give you the Super Bowl the way you predicted it because you’re going nowhere with Boo Nix at quarterback in the postseason,” Bayless told his co-host Aqib Talib, a former Broncos cornerback who picked his old team to win the Super Bowl this year.
Nix will have a chance to respond to the criticism when Denver faces the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 25. Darnold and the Seahawks will also return to action on Oct. 25, hosting Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.