News Article
Published
Oct 19, 2026 at 02:13 PM EDT
updated
Oct 19, 2026 at 02:14 PM EDT
Quarterback Bo Nix isn’t losing his job, and the man calling Denver’s plays made that plain.
Asked on Oct. 19 whether he’d thought about benching Nix, Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton shut the idea down on a media call. The question followed Prime Video analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick calling Nix’s night in a 17-14 overtime victory against the Seattle Seahawks “garbage.”
His reasoning put Nix’s growth on everyone around him.
“To answer your question, no,” Payton said. “He’s going to become the byproduct of all the finer things that get improved. The improved play from our offensive line, the more efficient we are relative to balance, running the football. That’s our jobs as coaches here.”
Denver is 4-2 yet sits 31st in total offensive output, second-worst in the league. Denver is 2-0 with Payton calling plays himself instead of Davis Webb, who is new to the coordinator job.
Defense carried both wins, a 23-17 road win over the Los Angeles Chargers and the overtime escape against Seattle. Nix went 33 of 54 for 230 yards over that stretch.
Nix vented after the Seattle game. “I don’t understand why we can’t really push the ball vertically,” he said.
Payton didn’t bite when asked whether he pays attention to media chatter about his quarterback, Fitzpatrick’s included.
“I try to focus on the next day here,” Payton said. “We’re trying to focus on getting ready to play Arizona.”
That left the counterpunching to Aqib Talib, who had already fired back at Fitzpatrick over his Nix comments.
Backup Jarrett Stidham stays on the bench.
The record buys some breathing room, and Payton leaned on it. “Fortunately, we’re sitting here 4-2 and we’ve got a chance to play better this upcoming weekend and we will.”
Next up is a trip to face the Arizona Cardinals. Fitzpatrick gets another crack at Nix when the Broncos play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Black Friday, a game Prime Video will carry.