Ryan Fitzpatrick’s scathing criticism of Broncos QB Bo Nix is deserved—but requires some added context
Former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick slammed Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix for his play in Week 6 after a 17-14 overtime win against Seattle.
Let’s start here. Adjustments are always better to make after a win. And for Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos offense, there is plenty of adjustments to be made.
Denver moved to 4-2 on the season with a 17-14 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks. It’s a huge deal. And there’s cause for celebration there. But some things aren’t worth celebrating right now and Nix’s play is included. The Broncos stumbled to just 168 yards of offense. It marks five times in six games that Denver has failed to surpass 300 total yards offensively. And former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had a front row season for the performance on Sunday night, had some choice words for Nix after the game.
Ryan Fitzpatrick slams Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix after overtime win versus Seattle
“They were in four-minute mode when the second half started. It was really frustrating to watch. And part of it for me is Bo Nix is not playing competitively. It’s almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he’s playing football right now. First of all, the guy doesn’t want to throw the ball, that’s fine. He’s throwing to the flats. He’s throwing behind (the line). But he has no trust from his head coach. He calls a screen play on 3rd & 8, just run up and let the clock keep going. What does he do? He throws it away. Seattle gets the ball and has a timeout. And then, in overtime, he has two chances to be competitive — the last one being a designed run for him. To run, make somebody miss and get a first down for your football team…he’s not playing competitive football right now.”
— Former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick on Broncos QB Bo Nix
You don’t often see criticism like this. And, to be fair to Nix, he was playing against the Seattle Seahawks. That defense is…ferocious? Fearsome? Can we settle for elite?
Nix finished Thursday night’s game 4 of 9 passing for 31 yards on passes that traveled further than 5 air yards downfield. They generally succeeded in protecting the football, a far contrast from what Sam Darnold and the Seattle offense did. That, of course, decided this football game after Darnold threw his second interception of the night in overtime.
That wasn’t Fitzpatrick’s point, though.
His point was the end-game sequences for Denver that could have allowed them to execute and win this game were there to be won if Nix was willing to compete and make a play. The incomplete pass on 3rd down that allowed Seattle to secure a strong punt return while also retaining their final timeout in the final two minutes? It’s a bad play. Denver needed to force Seattle to burn the timeout. and force their hand. Then, in overtime, Fitzpatrick didn’t see a competitive effort from Nix to try to make a potential winning play.
Is this a Nix problem or a Seattle byproduct?
From that sense, he’s right. It’s also true that Denver’s offense needs to get things right in a hurry. They’ve won their last two games by a combined 9 points because they are +5 in turnover differential — while failing to surpass 120 net passing yards as a team in either game. That is not sustainable.
Nix has had plenty of NFL success. It’s often come by trusting Sean Payton’s designs and letting it rip before making plays late in the game when needed. And that’s what was so jarring about the latest we saw from Nix, who simply went into his shell and didn’t even try to make a winning play. They’ll have an extra few days to sort out whether that was a Seattle problem, or a bigger issue with Nix. If it’s the latter, it better get fixed fast.
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