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Bo Nix, Denver Broncos start ‘an important month of football’

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Bo Nix, Denver Broncos start ‘an important month of football’


For the 11th time in the NFL’s Super Bowl era on Sunday, a quarterback threw at least 25 passes and had no more than 60 passing yards in a game. But the Denver Broncos’ Bo Nix walked off the field with something none of the other quarterbacks in the group got – a victory.

The Broncos defeated the New York Jets 10-9 to even their record at 2-2 with the rookie under center.

The former Pinson Valley High School and Auburn QB also came away from the game with the first touchdown pass of his NFL career.

“It’ll be at the house,” Nix said of the ball from the milestone. “Hopefully, it’ll be up for a while. Until my wife gets tired of it, I guess.”

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Nix completed 13-of-25 passes for 60 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions against the Jets on a rainy day in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

“I think it was a lot to do with the weather,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said, “and I think it impacted both quarterbacks. I’m not making an excuse, but it was different, it was difficult.”

Nix said he thought the weather affected the game “probably a lot.”

“I think some of the call sheets are limited when you have weather like that,” Nix said, “and they can play a little bit more aggressively and things change. But I feel like we adapted well, especially in the second half, and we adjusted, and we found ways to score points when we needed to.”

Nix joined Denver from Oregon as the 12th choice in the NFL Draft on April 25. Through four games, Nix has completed 83-of-138 passes for 660 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions and run for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.

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“He’s real sharp with his location,” Payton said of Nix, “and I would say that’s something that’s been pretty consistent long before he arrived here. He’s doing a good job getting through his progressions, where he’s going. I like what I’ve seen.”

But October will tell the tale on Nix and the Broncos for 2024, Payton said.

“There’s really not this plateau,” Payton said. “You’re getting better or you’re it’s the other, so this is an important month of football. …

“The execution, the details still have to get better with younger players, and that’s what we’re working on. I’ve said this before: If everyone else canpaint the right picture, then you truly get to evaluate and watch a real good quarterback. It’s that mix of running game, passing game, third down. It gets back to this month — ascending or going the other way. We’ve got to be stepping on the gas right now.”

The October schedule starts for Denver on Sunday, when the Las Vegas Raiders visit at 3:05 p.m. CDT for the Broncos’ first AFC West game of the season. Including two playoff games, Sunday’s contest will be Denver’s 130th against the Raiders.

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“I’ve been able to get a sense of it a little bit,” Nix said of the rivalry that started with the founding of the AFL in 1960, “but I don’t think you really truly understand it until you play in your first one. So I’m excited to play Sunday, and I know it’s important for this organization. I know it has been for a long time, and the players, we don’t take it lightly, so we’re going to go out there and compete at a high level, and I know they will, too, so it’s going to be a fun football game.”

The Broncos will wear throwback uniforms honoring the 1977 team when they play Las Vegas.

“I think they’re awesome,” Nix said. “I think anytime you can pay a little tribute to former teams that have come before you and have kind of laid the foundation for the opportunity that you have, I think that’s really important.

“And it’s fun to wear throwbacks. I think that’s always a neat thing that teams are able to do, and ours are pretty cool.”

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.





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Parker Gabriel’s 7 Thoughts after Broncos capture No. 1 seed, including Bo Nix barking at Sean Payton, then looking inward

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Parker Gabriel’s 7 Thoughts after Broncos capture No. 1 seed, including Bo Nix barking at Sean Payton, then looking inward


The Broncos are in prime position.

They didn’t wow many people Sunday, but they controlled a 19-3 win against the Los Angeles Chargers from start to finish and in the process secured the AFC’s No. 1 seed, a first-round playoff bye and homefield advantage as long as they’re in the tournament.

They are two home wins away from playing in Super Bowl 60.

Head coach Sean Payton after the game did as much shrugging off of an offensive o-fer in scoring position as he’ll ever do.

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Players were business-like, but they can feel the inbound rest already.

As they arrived home Sunday night, there are 14 teams still playing in the NFL.

By the time they next take the field, that number will be eight.

Now the fun really begins.

Here are 7 Thoughts following Denver’s dominant defensive performance and a remarkable 14-3 regular season.

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1. Bo Nix asked Sean Payton for more urgency early in Sunday’s game. Afterward, he said he should have provided it himself.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix looked to the sideline.

Early in the second quarter, Denver’s trudging offense finally found a bit of a spark.

Tyler Badie had just taken a third-and-13 swing pass for 16 yards and a first down.





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Broncos clinch AFC’s No. 1 seed, home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs

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Broncos clinch AFC’s No. 1 seed, home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs


DENVER — The Broncos have checked off their second goal of the season.

Denver officially clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with Sunday’s 19-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

As the top seed, the Broncos will receive a first-round bye in the 2025 playoffs and will host their first playoff game of the year in the Divisional Round on Saturday, Jan. 17 or Sunday, Jan. 18 at Empower Field at Mile High.

The Broncos, the lone team in the AFC to receive a first-round bye, will host the lowest remaining seed in the AFC playoff field in the Divisional Round. Denver’s possible opponents for its playoff opener include the Texans, Bills, Chargers and the yet-to-be-determined winner of the AFC North. If the Broncos earn a win in the Divisional Round, they would also host the AFC Championship Game.

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Denver finished the 2025 regular season with a 14-3 mark, which is tied for the most regular-season wins in franchise history. The Broncos earned the No. 1 seed over the Patriots (14-3) due to a better record in games against common opponents.

The Broncos are the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the first time since 2015, when they went on to win Super Bowl 50. Denver has earned the No. 1 seed for an AFC-best ninth time, and two of the Broncos’ three Super Bowl titles have come after earning the No. 1 seed. The Broncos advanced to the Super Bowl in six of the eight previous seasons in which Denver earned the top seed in the conference.

Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton has now led teams to the No. 1 seed on three occasions in his career, and he is one of five coaches to lead two different organizations to a No. 1 seed.

Bo Nix, meanwhile, became the fourth quarterback in franchise history to lead the organization to a No. 1 seed — joining Ring of Famers John Elway, Peyton Manning and Craig Morton.

Learn more about playoff tickets and suites by visiting DenverBroncos.com/Tickets

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Grading The Week: From Bo Nix’s dog days to Mackenzie Blackwood and Nikola Jokic, Denver sports’ 2026 off to rocky start

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Grading The Week: From Bo Nix’s dog days to Mackenzie Blackwood and Nikola Jokic, Denver sports’ 2026 off to rocky start


The Lumberyard is breaking boards already?

The Colorado Avalanche is becoming the Colorado Ambulanche. The Nuggets’ center options went from Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas to the 1-2 punch of DeRon Holmes II and Zeke Nnaji.

Hang on. Hang on. Wasn’t 2026 supposed to be “Denver’s Year?”

At least, that’s what the Grading The Week (GTW) crew told each other at the annual holiday soiree a fortnight ago, just before we sent everybody home for Christmas.

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Well after the last eight days or so, Team GTW thinks it might be wise now for the Broncos to double Bo Nix’s security. (Just don’t bring any guard dogs.)

Because if it wasn’t for bad luck, to paraphrase the late, great bluesman Albert King, Front Range sports fans wouldn’t have no luck at all.

Blackwood to the IR — D.

This past Friday, the Avs took a break from wiping the ice with the rest of the NHL to place goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, the younger half of its “Lumberyard” pairing of netminders, on injured reserve with a lower body injury.

You want lousy timing? Blackwood’s absence piles it on with several layers of awful.

For one, the Thunder Bay native finished December on a heater — posting an 8-1-0 record, a 2.13 Goals Against Average and a save rate of 92.3%.

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For another, Colorado is in the teeth of one of the tougher road trips of the season, with visits to division leading Carolina on tap for Saturday, followed by a matinee Sunday at Florida to cap off a night game-into-day-game back-to-back, capped off by a Tuesday evening visit to Tampa Bay.

For yet another, Blackwood only faced 13 shots on New Year’s Eve, his last start, during a 6-1 Avs win over St. Louis at Ball Arena.

Scott Wedgewood (17-1-4, 2.13 GAA, .919 save percentage as of early Saturday) has been more than good enough to shoulder the load in net, granted. But you also don’t want to overload a 33-year-old goalie who’s having a career year in his eighth full season in the NHL. Wedgewood, largely a “1B” netminder since ’15-16, had already logged 24 starts this season going into the weekend. His career high for starts is 32 and his season average has been 20 per year. Depending on the severity of Blackwood’s injury, Wedgewood, at least in the short term, is going to have to ramp up the quantity to match his quality.

In isolation, it’s a lousy way to open 2026. Add in the freak knee injury Nuggets icon Jokic suffered this past Monday night in Miami and Valanciunas’ calf strain two days later in Toronto, you wonder what Denverites did to anger the sporting gods. Or if we’re getting payback for October-December being so absolutely glorious ’round these parts.

Regardless, let’s put a pin in those multiple-championship-parades-in-one-year plans — at least until Nix and the Broncos get to Santa Clara next month in one piece.

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CSU women’s hoops rolling — A.

May whatever karma that’s haunting Ball Arena spare the good folks up in FoCo. The CSU Rams’ women’s basketball team finished the December part of its ’25-26 slate with a flourish on Dec. 31, stomping Grand Canyon in Phoenix 61-47 and improving to 12-2 overall, 3-0 in Mountain West play. CSU has won 12 straight away games dating back to last season. The Rams get a two-game homestand against Fresno State (Saturday) and New Mexico (Wednesday) before returning to the road on Jan. 10 (at Boise State) and Jan. 14 (at Air Force).



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