A day after Broncos rookie Bo Nix was named the starting quarterback for Week 1, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said the 24-year-old earned it.
Praising his ability to navigate within the pocket and use his mobility, Lombardi called Nix a “quick learner” who doesn’t make the same mistake twice.
“He understands what happened the first time, and he corrects it,” Lombardi said after Thursday’s practice. “He loves football. He studies it and learns every rep he gets.”
As an offensive coordinator for the Chargers, Lombardi heard about Nix through quarterback Justin Herbert — a former Duck. When Lombardi finally turned on Nix’s college film, he was impressed.
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“You’re like ‘Wait, that’s not what I expected. Let me go back a year (and) let me watch some Auburn film,’” Lombardi said. “Everything I looked at, I liked.”
Nix’s ability to throw the deep ball was one of the concerns coming out of Oregon. Even though he completed 77.4% of his passes for the Ducks in 2023, 38.8% of those attempts were fewer than 10 yards, according to Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, 19.5% of his passes were between 10 and 19 yards, and 10.9% were 20-plus yards because of Oregon’s offensive scheme.
Lombardi, on the other hand, believes Nix can let the ball fly.
“He’s got more arm talent than most people give him credit for,” Lombardi said.
Lombardi said it was hard to break the starting quarterback news to Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham, but both players have handled it like pros and understand the team’s decision.
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As Stidham and Wilson continue to battle for the backup spot, Lombardi has been impressed with the latter’s development in recent weeks. Lombardi said Wilson’s accuracy has improved as he has gotten more comfortable with the wide receivers.
Lombardi mentioned that the former New York Jets quarterback wasn’t pleased with his performance against the Green Bay Packers but thought he responded by putting together a pair of “outstanding” practices.
“I think we’d be comfortable with any of them playing quarterback for us,” Lombardi said.
Punter battle remains “close”: The quarterback battle is over, but the punter competition between Riley Dixon and Trenton Gill is ongoing.
“It’s still close,” said special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica. “We plan on both players to get an opportunity in the final preseason game, and then we’ll see how it shakes out from there.”
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Against the Packers, Gill punted the ball three times, averaging 48.7 yards per attempt, while Dixon had one attempt for 45 yards. Both players punted the ball inside the 20-yard line.
Wallace, Jones working their way back: Safety Brandon Jones and cornerback Levi Wallace practicing this week has been a pleasant sight for the Broncos.
Both players have missed a good chunk of practice time and were sidelined for the first two preseason games due to hamstring injuries. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said it has been important for Wallace and Jones to be back on the field.
Joseph called Wallace a “super smart” player, so hasn’t been concerned about the former Steelers cornerback falling behind. Joseph said Jones is in a different situation due to playing safety and understanding new play calls.
“Playing football and being in the meeting room is different,” Joseph said. “When guys miss time, it’s critical they get back to the playing field and also off the field, having their studies in check.”
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The Denver Broncos’ run in the NFL Playoffs did not go as planned, but the season was still a success for rookie quarterback Bo Nix, who lived up to expectations as a first-round pick.
While the Broncos season ended on the wrong end of a blowout loss, the future is bright at Mile High.
One of the people who was front and center throughout Nix’s rookie campaign was his wife Izzy Nix, who cheered him on throughout the year and was his biggest support system.
MORE: Bo Nix’s wife Izzy celebrates rookie NFL season with artsy photo of Broncos QB
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Now that the season is over, Izzy is looking back and reflecting on some of the best moments from Bo’s first year in the league.
She shared the video recap of her rookie WAG season on TikTok.
Izzy Nix/TikTok
MORE: Bo Nix’s wife Izzy, Broncos WAGs & QBs enjoy matching pj party with hilarious socks
Izzy Nix/TikTok
MORE: Bo Nix’s wife Izzy swoons over Drake Maye, Ann Michael Hudson engagement pics
Izzy Nix/TikTok
MORE: Livvy Dunne drops epic photodump of rookie WAG season, Paul Skenes
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Izzy Nix/TikTok
What a year it was.
MORE: Bo Nix’s wife Izzy’s epic photo with Zach Wilson’s fiancée, Broncos WAGs after loss
Nix finished his rookie campaign with 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while adding 430 yards and four scores on the ground.
Izzy Nix/Instagram
Izzy and Bo met at Auburn University in the summer of 2020 when he was the team’s star quarterback and she was a cheerleader. The two have been inseparable since and were eventually married in the summer of 2022.
Now that the season is over, Bo and Izzy will get to enjoy some couples getaways to make up for the time they spent apart during the successful year.
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— Enjoy free dish of rich and fabulous players with The Athlete Lifestyle on SI —
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Denver Nuggets (24-16, fourth in the Western Conference) vs. Miami Heat (20-19, ninth in the Eastern Conference)
Miami; Friday, 8 p.m. EST
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BOTTOM LINE: Denver hits the road against Miami aiming to extend its four-game road winning streak.
The Heat are 10-7 in home games. Miami is ninth in the Eastern Conference with 15.1 fast break points per game led by Tyler Herro averaging 3.7.
The Nuggets are 12-8 in road games. Denver is 6-4 in one-possession games.
The Heat are shooting 45.5% from the field this season, 0.9 percentage points lower than the 46.4% the Nuggets allow to opponents. The Nuggets are shooting 50.0% from the field, 4.0% higher than the 46.0% the Heat’s opponents have shot this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Herro is averaging 24.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and five assists for the Heat.
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Russell Westbrook is scoring 13.2 points per game and averaging 5.1 rebounds for the Nuggets.
LAST 10 GAMES: Heat: 5-5, averaging 109.2 points, 44.0 rebounds, 27.5 assists, 8.0 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.9 points per game.
Nuggets: 7-3, averaging 119.7 points, 47.3 rebounds, 30.5 assists, 8.3 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 49.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.9 points.
INJURIES: Heat: Dru Smith: out for season (achilles), Josh Richardson: day to day (heel).
Nuggets: Aaron Gordon: day to day (calf), DaRon Holmes II: out for season (achilles), Nikola Jokic: day to day (elbow), Vlatko Cancar: out (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
It’s official, Denver is getting it’s next major park. CBS News Colorado reported this would come to fruition ahead of the now official announcement on Wednesday.
CBS
Over the past 7 years, the defunct Park Hill Golf Course has inspired turf wars between open space advocates and developers.
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Now, the 155-acre property is back in the hands of the city after Mayor Mike Johnston entered a land swap. The developer gets property to build out in Adams County, and the city gets to create a brand new regional park.
In a land swap deal with developers, the former Park Hill Golf course will become a city park, and residents who have been battling to make this a reality say it is a dream come true.
“I kind of can’t believe it,” said Amy Harris, a longtime advocate for the park and a member of Save Open Space Denver.
The park, which was once a golf course where even some of the best golfers like Tiger Woods had set foot in, will now be a space where residents can enjoy the open space.
For Denver resident Mike Fernandez, it will be a place where he will be able to continue to bird watch.
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“There were a few that I don’t see anywhere else, like songbirds,” Fernandez said. “I was really trying to keep track of that to see the impact if there were development here they would be gone.”
Fernandez says he has tracked 18 different bird species near and around the golf course.
The property is returning to the people after years of advocacy by leaders such as former Mayor Wellington Webb, organizations such as Save Open Space Denver and a number of community members.
“I mean, it’s the best-case scenario,” Harris said. “It’s what we’ve been asking for since the beginning.”
The city looks to work with the community to jot down their long-term vision for the space and design plans for the near future.
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“I think the battle was really bringing folks to the table about the commitment to green spaces and understanding the impacts and the long-term to our climate to long term sustainability,” said Councilwoman Shontel Lewis of District 8.
It was all possible through an acre-for acre land exchange agreement, where Denver will trade undeveloped, industrial property near the airport for the Park Hill property — which is currently owned by Westside Investment Partners.
“There was an internal transfer of about $12.7 million within the city from parks and rec. to the airport that comes from the Park’s Legacy Fund for the acquisition,” Mayor Johnston explained. “The trade is made between Denver and the current owner for this site without any cash payment.”
In 2023, voters rejected a plan to develop the property with housing.
Johnston reassures Denverites the city will continue to work toward developing affordable housing nearby, while maintaining community jewels like this soon-to-be park.
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“We know there’s a housing shortage in Denver,” Johnston said. “We look to add more housing stock; we want to make sure that housing stock is affordable to people living in Denver right now.”
This historic deal in Denver now becomes the largest single city acquisition of private land for a public park.
“What we need to do today is celebrate that we maintain the Park Hill Golf Course in Denver for Denver,” Webb said.
Johnston now looks to work with Adams County commissioners and Denver City Council to approve the land exchange and begin the process. City officials say the new park is expected to be open to the public by this summer.
“I cant wait for the time where we can all gather together in the park when it’s really park and get to celebrate together,” Harris said.
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