Nix strengthens bid for Broncos’ starting QB job in win over Packers

DENVER (AP) — Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton isn’t ready to name rookie quarterback Bo Nix his starter just yet. It sure seems it’s just a matter of time, though.

“Well listen, he’s played well. I’m not announcing any starting quarterback tonight,” Payton said after Nix made another strong case for the gig when he led Denver to scores on both of his drives in his first NFL start, a 27-2 win over the Green Bay Packers’ backups on Sunday night.

Nix, the former Oregon star and the sixth QB selected in the 2024 NFL draft, has now led Denver to scores on six of his seven drives in the preseason.

Nix threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Tim Patrick, whose trip to the end zone was his first in 974 days as he missed the last two seasons with leg injuries. Nix also had a 14-yard strike to Javonte Williams that was overturned on review as he was ruled just past the line of scrimmage when he threw.

Denver (2-0), which got touchdowns from all three QBs, settled for the first of Wil Lutz’s two field goals instead.

Asked if he feels he’s done enough to win the job, Nix said, “That’s not for me to decide.”

It’s for Payton to determine and he’s not ready to reveal his pick, although he did heap plenty of praise on Nix.

“He had the one penalty which was right on the line. It was tough,” Payton said. “It was a pretty heads-up play. He did a good job at the line of scrimmage with some checks. You feel his comfort level as he continues to get used to the calls coming in. And you know, you kind of feel the poise when he’s playing.”

Nix finished 8 of 9 for 90 yards and a stellar 140.7 passer rating. Patrick caught four of his passes for 30 yards, none bigger than his TD, his first since Dec. 19, 2021.

“We just went crazy for Tim Patrick after the game,” QB Jarrett Stidham said.

“It meant a lot,” suggested Denver linebacker Baron Browning. “I know it had to be tough for him mentally” to miss two seasons. “Just to see him fight back … I’m glad to have him back.”

Nix relieved Stidham last week at Indianapolis before getting the bulk of the first-team work leading up to his first start as a pro, which included a joint practice Friday.

That workout proved more competitive than this game although Packers coach Matt LaFleur wasn’t happy with the déjà vu Sunday when he sat 31 players, including all of his regular starters.

“That was a long night,” LaFleur said. “I was hoping our guys would come out with more strain, effort, grit. We were kind of getting humbled the other day in practice and to have it happen again wasn’t where we want to be.

“It was a good lesson for our guys in terms of it doesn’t matter who’s out there, if you don’t put your best foot forward each and every time you go out on that field, these things can happen to you.”

Stidham’s 9-yard scramble into the end zone made it 17-0 just before halftime following Keidron Smith’s 56-yard interception return of a deep pass from Sean Clifford, who got the start with Jordan Love in a baseball cap.

RULE RIPPLE

Zach Wilson mopped up for Denver and Green Bay (1-1) finally got on the scoreboard in the final minute of the third quarter when Zach Morton sacked Wilson in the end zone for a safety.

What followed was the first post-safety kickoff under the new rules, and Lutz, using a tee that hadn’t been allowed on a safety kickoff before, blasted the ball from his 20-yard line to the Green Bay 2. Dimitri Stanley returned it to the 29.

That aspect of the rule change might have unintended consequences because it can prevent teams that recorded the safety from having the favorable field position they generally got in the past with the ensuing punt, drop kick or place kick without the tee.

“I don’t really like it,” LaFleur said of the change. “You lose the advantage that you get from the safety. It is what it is; that’s the rule. We’ll just have to play it that way. But I think you really lose the advantage of the field position that you typically gain from a safety.”

INJURIES: Packers LB Ralen Goforth sustained a concussion on Stidham’s touchdown just before halftime.

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