Bo Nix is under real heat now, and for once, it’s heat he brought on himself.
That’s the hard truth after his rough Week 1 showing against the Kansas City Chiefs. Nix has spent much of his NFL run dealing with outsized scrutiny and plenty of people trying to force old pre-draft opinions onto his game. But after that dud, the criticism doesn’t just land differently - it lands fairly.
Colin Cowherd has been one of the loudest voices driving the conversation, and his comments carry a little extra weight because he worked with Sean Payton for a year when Payton was at FOX Sports. Cowherd’s take on Nix may change as quickly as the wind, but the fact that he’s been hammering the Broncos quarterback for multiple days in a row is worth noticing.
There’s a reason the temperature feels higher in 2026 than it did when Nix was a rookie. The Broncos are coming off the #1 seed in the AFC, an AFC West title, and a trip to host the AFC Championship Game.
This isn’t a team that can afford a quarterback simply treading water. The expectation is progress.
And that’s where the pressure sharpens. After the 2026 season, Nix becomes contract extension-eligible.
Denver has made it clear it wants him around long-term, but that doesn’t mean a deal gets handed out automatically. Russell Wilson took care of that.
If the Broncos are going to treat Nix as their franchise quarterback, he has to keep proving it.
The upside is obvious. Nix has already shown he can rise to the moment in big games against some of the league’s best teams.
He’s delivered clutch performances, including the Divisional Round win over the Bills. He’s a baller, a gamer, a playmaker, and a leader.
But the floor still matters, and that’s what made the Chiefs game sting so much. After the most-watched Monday Night Football game in history, the bottom end of Nix’s play still looks too low for a quarterback in his third season. The Broncos need a steadier version of him if they’re going to keep building around him.
That urgency goes beyond Nix alone. Davis Webb is in his first year as an offensive play-caller, and the Broncos have been vocal about believing he’s one of the best up-and-coming coaches in football. Nix’s ability to run Webb’s offense affects how that move is viewed around the league and how Sean Payton’s decision to hand over play-calling is judged internally.
Payton’s own standing is part of the equation too. He came close to becoming the first head coach in league history to win a Super Bowl with multiple franchises, and that kind of finish would lock in his Hall of Fame case. Nix is tied to that, whether he likes it or not.
There’s also the simple reality of who holds the leverage right now. It’s Payton, not Nix, who has the long-term contract. If Payton ever turns on his quarterback, he has the power to act on it.
None of this means the Broncos are about to launch into a quarterback search. Nix could still play out his rookie deal, which runs through after the 2028 season if Denver picks up his 5th-year option. The team could even end up in franchise-tag territory if it doesn’t find a better long-term answer.
But the message from the latest wave of criticism is clear: this season has to be more than a flash of good football. Nix needs a real step forward, not just a few strong outings. If the Broncos want him as their future, he has to start looking like it right now.
In Other News...
Broncos Linebacker Trouble Could Force A Familiar Reunion
Denvers Week 1 loss put a spotlight on a linebacker group that never looked settled, and Alex Singletons return from injury did not smooth things over the way the Broncos hoped. With the middle of the defense under scrutiny, the search for help has already started to feel less like a luxury and more like a necessity if the Broncos want to avoid letting one shaky opener become a longer-term problem.
Cody Barton is the name that keeps surfacing because he brings both familiarity and a possible opening. The Titans linebacker struggled in their opener and could be pushed aside if Tennessee chooses to lean into younger options, which is the kind of roster shift that can put a veteran on the move. For Denver, the appeal is obvious: Barton already knows the organization, and in a spot where the Broncos need steadier play fast, a familiar face might end up looking like the simplest fix. [Read more 🡒]
Alex Singleton Debate Just Got More Heated In Denver
Alex Singletons Week 1 stat line looked busy in the box score, but the tape told a more complicated story for a Broncos defense that came out of the loss to Kansas City with tackling questions hanging over it. Singleton led Denver with 16 tackles, yet some of the missed stops around him became part of the larger conversation about how cleanly the defense played in the opener.
Singleton has already acknowledged the Broncos need to tackle better and said he believes the group will improve this week, but the debate around his performance has only grown louder. His agent added fuel to it on social media by blasting Broncos media coverage as ignorant and incompetent, turning what might have stayed a football discussion into a more pointed one for a team trying to move on quickly from Week 1. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Fans Will Hate What This Chiefs Missed Call Just Confirmed
A familiar AFC West frustration resurfaced on Monday night, when the Chiefs found a way to keep their offense moving on a touchdown play that left Broncos fans fuming. On the snap in question, Travis Kelce was seen holding a Denver safety, but the officials let it go, and the score stood. Kelce later acknowledged the hold was questionable, a detail that only added to the sense that the Broncos caught a bad break at a key moment.
For Denver, the missed call did more than just sting in real time. It came as Kansas City was building momentum in a game the Chiefs went on to win, while the Broncos were dealing with their own penalty issues and an uneven performance that left little margin for error. In a rivalry that already lives on the edge, a sequence like that is the kind fans remember long after the final whistle. [Read more 🡒]