Fitzpatrick rips Nix after Broncos' ugly TNF win — SkimNews
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- Ryan Fitzpatrick, an Amazon Prime analyst and former NFL quarterback, ripped Broncos QB Bo Nix after Denver's 17-14 overtime win over Seattle, calling his play "almost disrespectful to the quarterback position" and "not playing competitive football," visibly startling fellow analysts Tony Gonzalez, Andrew Whitworth, and Richard Sherman.
- Bo Nix went 17-for-27 for 107 yards with zero touchdowns and zero turnovers, averaging just 4.0 yards per attempt, and Fitzpatrick questioned whether Nix is still injured or simply lacking effort.
- Nix's average pass traveled only 3.0 yards downfield Thursday, his longest completion was 8 yards, and his 4.9 air yards per attempt is the lowest by any NFL player through six games over the last 20 seasons.
- Fitzpatrick singled out two issues: Nix refusing to throw beyond the flats — including a third-and-8 screen call where Nix threw it away and gave Seattle the ball back — and failing to convert on a designed QB run in overtime that needed a first down.
- Sam Darnold's three turnovers, including two interceptions, ultimately sealed Seattle's fate — one pick set up Wil Lutz's game-winning 53-yard field goal in overtime.
- The Broncos finished with just 168 total yards, their fewest in a win since Week 1, 1983 (John Elway's first start), and sit 31st in yards per game and 32nd in yards per play this season, yet own a 4-2 record thanks to their defense.
- Sean Payton's postgame locker room speech praised the team for winning ugly and avoiding turnovers, telling them to "promise ourselves we're still improving."
Why it matters: Denver's 4-2 record is essentially a defense-only phenomenon: the Broncos rank dead last in yards per play and just posted the fewest yards in a win since John Elway's first start in 1983. If Bo Nix's historically poor downfield passing (lowest air yards through six games in 20 years per the source) doesn't improve, the defense alone can't sustain a playoff push against tougher opponents.
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