Published October 16, 2026 12:29 AM
The Broncos won on Thursday night, beating the defending Super Bowl champions in overtime. But the victory comes with a major asterisk; Denver’s offense continues to be not good enough.
As Ryan Fitzpatrick of Prime Video put it after the game, quarterback Bo Nix is not good enough.
“Bo Nix is not playing competitively,” Fitzpatrick said, growing increasingly animated as he went. “It’s almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he’s playing quarterback right now. . . . He has no trust from his coach, he calls a screen play on third and eight. . . . Now they’re in the locker room right now, they’re excited. They won. He’s not playing competitive football right now. . . . I can only imagine how Sean Payton feels. I mean, Sean Payton, [offensive coordinatpr] Davis Webb, everybody that blocks for him. He’s not competing right now. And that’s something that he’s hung his hat on for the last two years. I don’t know if he’s still injured. I don’t know what’s going on. But it’s not good enough. It’s effort.”
Later in the postgame show, Fitzpatrick was given another chance to elaborate on his critique of Nix.
“Well, there’s no fire and there’s no passion,” Fitzpatrick said. “And that doesn’t mean you’ve got to be yelling at guys on the sideline or inspiring in the huddle. You can do it with your play as well. And I just don’t see it. And I just think that he needs to be sat down and they need to tell him being a quarterback in the NFL is a very special thing. And right now he’s taking it for granted. He is. And there’s a lot of guys that have played this game that watch that game that think, ‘That right there is garbage. That effort is garbage. That is not a quarterback in the NFL. We deserve better.’”
For the game, Nix completed 17 of 27 passes for 107 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. His passer rating was 71.1. Denver’s offense gained only 168 yards. Seattle gained 353.
It remains to be seen whether Payton will have anything to say publicly about Nix’s play. Payton may have some pointed things to say privately — and if the issues continue, who knows what will happen?
Because Nix is in his third season, whatever comes next will be critical. Nix will be eligible for a second contract after the season.
And the Broncos’ eventual options could be to either pay him market value or move on. Bot every team wants to kick the can or pay a mid-level contract to a guy who lands in the “average” category. To win consistently and to chase championships, it’s critical to have a guy who’s playing like a franchise quarterback.