Rookie Bo Nix gets first NFL win as Broncos defeat Buccaneers

TAMPA, Fla. – It may have taken a little longer than he had hoped, but the Denver Broncos won their first game with rookie Bo Nix at quarterback on Sunday.

And the visibly happy, relieved 24-year-old was asked if he wanted to let it all sink in a little longer.

“Well, I have to,” Nix said after the Broncos' 26-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. “You only get a moment like this once, it's not easy to win games in this league. Our guys deserve this, our guys fought for this.”

After the Broncos won the pregame coin toss, Broncos coach Sean Payton made it clear from the start that he wanted to stay aggressive with Nix despite the rookie's struggles and an offense that was coming off two straight losses to start the season. Instead of deferring possession to the second half, as he and other coaches typically do after winning the coin toss, Payton let the Broncos take possession at the start of the game.

He had instructed two Broncos captains – linebacker Alex Singleton and kicker Wil Lutz – to tell the referee that the team would take the ball if it won the coin toss.

“He usually pushes the ball, but I guess he whispered to Alex and Wil that he wanted to get the ball,” wide receiver Courtland Sutton said. “I was out there, but it still kind of surprised me because I knew what the first play was going to be — we go over opening plays the night before the game … so he decided to get the ball, and I was like, 'Oh yeah, he's trying to set the tempo.'”

“I'll usually give in, like most coaches, but every now and then you want to send a little message,” Payton said. “We felt like we had a good set of opening shots.”

After saying several times last week that the Broncos would be paying close attention to how often Nix dropped back to pass in the first two games of the season – Nix was third in the league with 88 total dropbacks in those two games – Payton then decided to turn his rookie quarterback loose on Sunday. On that first possession, Nix threw four of the drive's six plays, including the game-opening 28-yard pass to Sutton.

Nix completed 4 of 4 passes for 70 yards on the opening touchdown drive, finishing with a 3-yard touchdown run that gave Denver a 7-0 lead. He finished the day 25 of 36 passing for 216 yards.

“We have to put pressure on the ball, it comes out fast,” Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said. “When we couldn't put pressure on it, we weren't good at tackling… and that was the most disappointing thing – the tackling.”

Nix is ​​still chasing his first career touchdown pass, but he didn't throw a single interception on Sunday — he threw four in his first two games — and wasn't sacked. As happens with a rookie quarterback every week he plays, Payton was asked about Nix's “development” after Sunday's win before quickly deflecting the topic.

“No, no, no, stop, stop … he won and won and won and won (in college), and honestly I didn't even see him flinch,” Payton said. “… He didn't flinch, we had a good plan and the players did a good job.”

“Man, it was huge… watch him go out there and find his rhythm,” Sutton said of Nix. “… It's only his third week, I think I've talked at length about it being too early for him… I think we got a really good look at where he could be and where he could take this offense with him at the helm… we can only go as far as he takes us.”

It all led to a 17-0 Broncos lead early in the second quarter and a 20-7 lead at halftime. And with the Broncos defense doing its part — seven sacks of Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, plus an interception and a fumble recovery — Payton relied more on the running game in the second half. Nix attempted 12 passes in the second half, compared to the 24 before halftime, as the Broncos made 90 of their 136 yards in the running game in the second half.

“We came out early and threw the ball, and then toward the end of the game we had to run the ball, and everyone in the stadium knew we were going to run the ball,” Nix said. “… A complete offensive game, I thought.”

The Broncos will stay in Tampa until Monday morning before heading to the Greenbriar Resort in West Virginia for their usual work week. They will practice at the resort Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before heading to New Jersey to play the New York Jets next Sunday at MetLife Stadium.