DENVER (AP) — Bo Nix's demeanor hasn't changed from the first month of the season when he couldn't find the end zone to rolling through October and November while piling up accolades and joining the NFL Rookie of the Year conversation.
If Nix has another stellar outing Monday night when the Denver Broncos (7-5) host the Cleveland Browns (3-8), he could become the first player since the 1970 merger to win Rookie of the Week honors four consecutive times.
He already has one NFL Rookie of the Month award and is in line for another after a stellar November in which he joined C.J. Stroud (2023), Gardner Minshew (2019) and Dak Prescott (2016) as the only rookie quarterbacks to post three consecutive 200-yard passing games with multiple touchdowns and no interceptions.
Nix is just as grounded now, however, as he was in September, when it took him until Week 4 to throw his first NFL touchdown pass.
“I know what it's like to be on both ends of the spectrum,” Nix said. "So, I've just got to keep doing what's getting us here and what's keeping us playing well, just rely on the other guys, get your playmakers the ball, do what my coaches are asking me.
“It sounds simple, but that's all I've got to continue to do and I think we'll continue to have success.”
Nix insisted he isn’t paying much mind to the pundits who suggest he’s surpassed Washington QB Jayden Daniels and Las Vegas tight end Brock Bowers in the NFL Rookie of the Year race with his improving play week by week.
“All I can focus on is the next game, the next opponent,” Nix said, “what I can do to win, what I can do to help the team. And right now that’s just executing. There’s always going to be the off-the-field thing. And you know it doesn’t matter if you don’t play well."
Behind the NFL's stingiest defense, which sports a league-best 44 sacks and the game's top cornerback in Patrick Surtain II, and an ever-improving offense, the Broncos are in position to finally end an eight-year playoff drought.
They'll have to fend off the Indianapolis Colts (6-7), whom they host Dec. 15 after their bye week, and the Miami Dolphins (5-7), among others, to get back to the postseason party they've missed every year since winning the Super Bowl following the 2015 season.
Being in this position is testament to the Broncos finally finding — in Nix — a worthy successor to Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.
Since Manning retired after winning Super Bowl 50, the Broncos have churned through draft picks (Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Drew Lock, Brock Osweiler), trade acquisitions (Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Teddy Bridgewater) and free agents (Case Keenum) in a frustratingly fruitless search for another franchise quarterback.
John Elway, who served as Broncos GM for a decade and lured Manning to Denver in 2012, said earlier this year that his biggest regret was bypassing Josh Allen for Bradley Chubb in the 2018 NFL draft. But he told The Associated Press in a recent interview that those pangs of remorse have been assuaged watching Nix's growth under the tutelage of Sean Payton.
“We’ve seen the progression of Bo in continuing to get better and better each week and Sean giving him more each week and trusting him more and more," Elway said.
He added that Nix, the sixth passer selected in April’s draft, is an ideal fit in Denver with Payton navigating his transition to the pros and Vance Joseph’s defense serving as a pressure release valve for a QB who started 61 games at Auburn and Oregon, an NCAA record for a quarterback.
Browns cornerback Denzel Ward sees the same progression in Nix's game.
“I think he’s gotten better week in and week out, throwing a lot of touchdowns, getting his playmaker the ball, making the plays last a little longer with his feet and able to make the throws downfield,” Ward said.
This game marks Nix's “Monday Night Football” debut, and therefore will serve as his introduction to many football fans.
Nix is keeping it all in perspective.
“Every time we touch the field it feels like prime time, because for all we know nothing else is going on,” Nix said. "We're just right there in the moment. We're right there in the game and every game is prime time.
“Every time you get to go out there and put on the helmet, put on the uniform, it's special and you don't want to take it for granted. And playing in the NFL is a special opportunity. So each time you go do it you just want to maximize it, make the most of it. This time, the lights happen to be a little brighter and the sun's going to be down.”
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