Bo Nix Throws Two Picks but Broncos Win Again MVP Sneaking Up on Everyone?
By Jason Bolton November 11, 2025 05:45
The Mile High chill cut through the thin air like a bad snap, but inside Empower Field at Mile High, the boos rained down thicker than the flurries threatening to fall. It was Thursday night, and Bo Nix the second-year savior who'd dragged the Broncos back from the abyss was serving up a performance that had even the diehards questioning their faith. Two interceptions. A measly 150 passing yards. A quarterback rating that dipped to a cringe-worthy 54.2. And yet, as the clock ticked to zero on a 10-7 mud-wrestle against the Las Vegas Raiders, there stood Nix at midfield, helmet off, soaking in a smattering of cheers from a crowd that had spent the night torn between love and exasperation.
The Broncos improved to 8-2, owners of the NFL's best record and a seven-game winning streak their longest in a decade. Their defense, a snarling beast that sacked Geno Smith six times and held Las Vegas to seven measly points, carried the day. Special teams chipped in with a blocked punt that set up the game-winning field goal. But make no mistake: This win was ugly, a stark reminder that Denver's ascent isn't a solo act from their golden boy under center. "We've got to find some juice," Nix said postgame, his voice steady but his eyes scanning the locker room like a general rallying ragged troops. "At some point, 10 points ain't going to be enough. We've got to do better."
Nix's night was a microcosm of the sophomore surprises that have defined his young career flashes of brilliance wrapped in head-scratching miscues. The first pick came early, a telegraphed slant to Marvin Mims Jr. that Raiders corner Kyu Blu Kelly snatched like a holiday gift. The second? A tipped deflection off Troy Franklin's hands in the fourth quarter, with Denver clinging to a three-point lead and the Raiders knocking on the door at the 45. That one nearly unraveled it all; Las Vegas' Daniel Carlson shanked a 48-yard field goal try moments later, sparing Nix from infamy. But the damage was done. Fans, restless in the stands, let loose a chorus of jeers that echoed off the rafters. "I've been booed before, and I'll be booed again," Nix shrugged later, flashing that Oregon-bred grin. "It's part of it. Unfortunate, but you use it."
For a guy who's rewritten the Broncos' quarterback narrative since Sean Payton tabbed him as the 12th overall pick in 2024, the backlash stings less than you'd think. Nix's rookie year was a revelation: 3,775 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, and a playoff berth that ended a nine-year drought. He finished third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting, behind only Jayden Daniels and Brock Bowers, and earned a spot at No. 64 on the NFL's Top 100 Players of 2025 list voted by his peers, no less. This season? He's elevated, at least on paper. Through 10 games, Nix has torched for 2,126 yards on a 60.9% completion rate, with 18 passing touchdowns and an 85.7 passer rating. Add in his scrambling 85 yards on the year, including clutch runs like his 25-yard scamper to set up the winner against Houston last week and he's posted 21 total scores, tied for second in the league behind only Matthew Stafford's 25.
The numbers whisper MVP. Denver's 8-2 start has them perched atop the AFC West, a half-game ahead of the surging Chiefs, and Nix's efficiency has the oddsmakers taking notice. Preseason, he languished at +10,000 to win league MVP, a dark-horse afterthought behind the usual suspects like Josh Allen (+550) and Patrick Mahomes (+750). But as the wins piled up seven in the last 39 days, tying an NFL record dating back to 1935 his odds tightened to +3,500 at DraftKings and BetMGM, slotting him just outside the top 10. "Bo's sneaking up on everyone," Payton said Friday during the team's mini-bye walkthrough, his drawl laced with that familiar New Orleans mischief. "Look, Thursday wasn't vintage. But the kid's got that dog in him. You saw it: He gutted out a drive to ice it. That's why we're 8-2."
Payton's right. Vintage Nix wasn't on display against the Raiders no 300-yard bombs or fourth-quarter Houdinis like his 173-yard, two-TD grit job in the 18-15 thriller over Houston on Nov. 2, where he shook off an early pick and his own 48.6% completion rate to engineer the game-sealing field goal setup. That night, with C.J. Stroud sidelined by injury, Nix's legs turned the tide: a 25-yard bootleg on 2nd-and-7 and a 9-yard designed run in the final minute. "Bo's the ultimate competitor," wideout Courtland Sutton said after that win. "He don't flinch. Two picks? Doesn't matter. He finds a way." Sutton, who's hauled in 52 catches for 712 yards and five scores this year, knows the drill. He's been the beneficiary of Nix's arm talent, including a 30-yard dart for Houston's lone touchdown.
But here's the rub: MVP talk feels premature when your signal-caller is getting booed at home. Nix's 30% uncatchable pass rate highest among starters has analysts nitpicking his deep-ball accuracy (just 42% on throws over 10 yards). He's been sacked only 10 times, tied for the league low with Sam Darnold, thanks to an elite O-line that's paving lanes for J.K. Dobbins' 682 rushing yards (fourth in the NFL). Yet the offense ranks 18th in scoring (22.1 points per game), a far cry from the explosive units Payton orchestrated in New Orleans. "We're balanced, but we need more pop," defensive end Nik Bonitto admitted, fresh off his 2.5-sack demolition of Smith. Bonitto's part of a front four that's terrorized QBs to the tune of 46 sacks in 10 games the most since at least 1990 holding foes to a league-low 17.2 points allowed.
The MVP chatter isn't baseless, though. In a wide-open race where Allen (+160) and Stafford (+275) lead the pack, Nix's case hinges on Denver's trajectory. The Broncos host Kansas City on Nov. 16 a revenge spot after last year's playoff ouster and a win there could vault them into the conversation. "If Bo keeps us at 12-5 or better, yeah, he's in the mix," ESPN's Dan Orlovsky said on First Take Friday. "Look at his TD total. Tied for second. And those wins? They're real." Orlovsky's not alone; Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon pegged Nix as a +3,500 under-the-radar threat back in June, citing his Year 2 acclimation in Payton's scheme.
Nix, ever the pragmatist, brushes it off. "MVP? That's for December," he said, slinging passes in Friday's walkthrough. "Right now, it's about fixing the mistakes. Those picks? On me. But we won. That's what matters." As the Broncos eye a Super Bowl window cracked open by a defense that's No. 1 against the run (3.6 yards per carry allowed) and passers (eight TDs surrendered), Nix's growth could turn whispers into roars. Thursday's clunker was a hiccup, not a harbinger. In a league where heroes are forged in the fire of close calls, Bo Nix is just heating up.
The AFC West awaits. And so does the MVP hardware if he can keep the ball out of the wrong hands.
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