Nine consecutive AFC West championships have been won by the Kansas City Chiefs. This coming season, may Bo Nix, the quarterback for the Denver Broncos, help break that run? Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated called the Broncos the division’s “biggest threat” to the Kansas City Chiefs in a post that was published on Monday. One of his primary motivations was Nix.
“Bo Nix had an offseason that only steeled belief in Denver that he will take another leap in his second year with a young, ascending group of wideouts and ancillary pieces [tight end] Evan Engram and [running back] RJ Harvey added around him,” Breer said. Nix obviously seems much more at ease with head coach Sean Payton’s offence after being third in the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting the previous season.
At mandatory minicamp on June 11, Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi stated, “He had a completion on a play-action concept [in practice] that last year, he probably wasn’t comfortable with the footwork.” ‘Man, it’s so amazing that I don’t have to think about the footwork,’ he added after returning. The degree of comfort is palpable. You can definitely feel that he can play freely and naturally out there.
Nix threw 29 touchdown passes in 17 regular-season games in 2024, more than Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (26 in 16 starts). Nix’s remarkable numbers should continue to soar when you combine his growing comfort level with his desire to continue proving himself. At OTAs on May 29, Nix stated, “I have a lot to prove and show, and I haven’t done anything up to this point.” “You don’t want to get to year two or go down the road, and all of a sudden you got stuck and you didn’t get any better.”
In Week 10 of the previous season, the Chiefs triumphed over the Broncos 16-14 in Kansas City by blocking a field-goal attempt just before the conclusion of the game.
