The Denver Broncos are 4-2, and that's something to celebrate, especially given the initial six-game gauntlet this team faced.
Alas, the full sweetness of the 4-2 feat has been soured by Bo Nix's ongoing slump. The third-year quarterback simply hasn't looked like himself, leading many to speculate on whether he's truly recovered from his ankle injury.
Nix suffered a fractured ankle in the Broncos' 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs, which required two surgeries. Both he and the Broncos have been adamant that his ankle is fine, but that doesn't necessarily mean that his psyche has yet to fully recover.
Nix Admits the Truth
Amid the speculation about the true status of Nix's overall bill of health, the beleaguered signal-caller acknowledged that his ankle injury has played some role in his overall performance this season.
“I’d be lying if I said no," Nix said on Wednesday. "I think that’s just what happens. I think you come back, and every day is a progression. I’m not necessarily doing physical therapy treatment, but I’m out there on the practice field getting rep after rep, trying to get back in super great shape so my carries can go up, so I’m ready when my number’s called and when I can run."
Recovery from severe injury is a process — that, we know. And whether you're an average Joe or a multi-million-dollar pro athlete, the recovery process not only requires the physical injury itself to heal, but also the psyche to trust that it has. The physical and mental healing timetables don't always align perfectly.
He's 'Not Scared'
Again, Nix emphasized that his ankle is fine. He's healthy, but he was candid in admitting that his recovery has played a role in his relative failure to launch, though he wouldn't say he's been on a "downslope." Perhaps that's because his No. 1 job as a quarterback is to win games, and he's certainly done that.
There may be some lingering mental side effects of his ankle recovery, but Nix was adamant in declaring that he's not afraid. He's not scared to play on his ankle and do his job.
"I’m not scared. I’m not physically worried," Nix said. "I just think there’s something to the sport. I think all guys, when they come back from an injury, just doing it one day at a time. I think that’s just part of the game. That’s part of the process. I had surgery probably six months ago. It takes a while for things to fully reengage."
Recovery is a process, and the time it takes to fully happen is contingent on many variables. According to NFL insider James Palmer, the Broncos have been "concerned" about Nix's performance, but they're standing behind him, fully confident that he's going to turn a corner and get back to the quarterback fans came to know and love over his first two years in the league.
Nix is confident that'll happen, too. And all it could take is one big game for the floodgates to open.
"I feel good physically. I think it’s going to be there," Nix said. "It’s just in football, you have to get that one (game) that just gets you going. I think we’ve been playing some really good teams thus far and haven’t gotten that one, but we’re searching for that one game that sort of just puts us right back where we were.”
Peaking at the Right Time
Nix has always been a bit of a slow starter. That applies to individual games and seasons as a whole.
It seems to be baked into his DNA as a quarterback. At the same time, though, Nix is a bona fide gamer. And he's one of the NFL's best clutch-time quarterbacks. If we're talking football DNA, he definitely has the clutch gene.
Nix likened his recovery to a mountain. You climb, you climb, and then you finally peak. He wants to be peaking in December and January, rather than, say, September, as we've seen several quarterbacks do throughout NFL history, including this season.
"I don't want to be peaking until the playoffs. I don't want to be peaking at my best because you can't hold it the whole entire season," Nix said. "If you look at a training block, if you look at physical preparation, the guys that can build and grow and get to the peak, which is the playoffs, December, January, February, if you can get to that point and you can hold it, you'll feel really good."
We certainly saw that from Nix last year. He peaked at the best possible time, only to suffer a heartbreaking injury when he'd put the Broncos on the doorstep of the Super Bowl.
Young but Already Accomplished
Hearkening back to the Peyton Manning days, some Broncos fans may say to themselves, "Well, gee. Can't we have good quarterback play in September, October, November, December, January, and February?"
Touche. But remember, Broncos Country wasn't around for Manning's early-career trial-and-error learning curve. He was an Indianapolis Colt for 14 years first.
Manning is a Hall-of-Famer, as is John Elway. The two have much in common, including multiple World Championships and records, but they also had to bump their heads a bit as young quarterbacks. Neither was a quarterback of legend out of the box, despite both being the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.
Nix is still in the early developmental years of his NFL career. And yet, he's already accomplished so much. He's got a .700 career winning percentage and is 18-3 in his last 21 starts.
This is why the Broncos' confidence in Nix hasn't been shaken. And despite the funk and the incessant questions about his health, he's still confident he'll get back to playing the brand of football we saw before his ankle injury.
"I'm confident in myself," Nix said. "I know I'm going to get back and be exactly what I was, if not better, because as I get older, that's how it's been. But I do think it's just one game at a time. My training is going like this, and at the end of the day, it's all about getting better."
The Takeaway
Getting the run game going would help Nix in his endeavors to improve. Sean Payton is very focused on doing just that entering Week 7's tilt against the Arizona Cardinals.
With rookie running back Jonah Coleman designated to return from injured reserve, the Broncos' ground attack is getting some reinforcements. It can only help Nix get back on his feet and return to playing championship-caliber football.
Nix is looking for that one big game. It could be the Cardinals this week on the road — a place where the Broncos have excelled in recent years.
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