The Broncos’ second preseason game was messy, but Bo Nix’s return gave Denver exactly the one thing it needed to see.
In a 33-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Sean Payton was not in the mood to celebrate much of anything after watching his team stumble through another rough outing. Still, the quarterback situation was the real headline, and Nix’s first appearance of the preseason checked the biggest box on Denver’s list.
Nix looked sharp enough in a 15-play stretch, finishing 6 of 9 for 76 yards and a touchdown while helping the Broncos put up 10 points. Payton’s reaction was understated when asked about it by Nick Kosmider of The Athletic.
“It seems like six hours ago, so I’m having trouble with his (two) series or whatnot,” Payton said of Nix’s first appearance of this preseason drive, a 15-play stint in which the quarterback completed 6 of 9 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown and led Denver to 10 points. “I thought he was solid.”
Inside the locker room, though, the mood around Nix’s return was a lot more upbeat. Pass rusher Que Robinson said getting the quarterback back on the field mattered beyond the stat line.
“It’s a morale booster, man,” pass rusher Que Robinson said of seeing Nix back on the field. “He had an injury and everyone wants to see him well. To see him bounce back from that and be the Bo we all know and love is a tremendous thing.”
Nix said the outing felt familiar, and he pointed to the cleanup surgery in April to remove bone spurs as part of why he feels so good now.
“I felt like exactly where I left off,” Nix said. “Honestly, I felt better over time.
I think the extra clean-up surgery was good for me because it put me back to square one. It’s as good as I’ve felt in a long time.”
There is still work to do, especially in building timing with his receivers. The 35-yard streak that sparked Denver’s first drive was a highlight, but Jaylen Waddle said the connection is still a work in progress after sitting out last week’s preseason opener while recovering from a soft-tissue injury in his leg suffered early in training camp.
“We’re still building that chemistry,” said Waddle, who sat out last week’s preseason opener as he continued to recover from a soft-tissue injury in his leg suffered early in training camp. “We’re just going to continue to build it in practice and get those quality reps in.”
Payton has plenty to clean up after the loss, but Nix’s return answered the question that mattered most for Denver as it heads toward its opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 14.
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