Expectations are pointed straight at Bo Nix as the Broncos head toward 2026, and the quarterback says the game feels different now that he’s entering his third season. The early version of Nix was focused on survival. The version he sees now is chasing control.
“Year 1, I’m trying to just not mess up for the team,” Nix said via The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider. “I feel like Year 3, I’m trying to make plays for the team.
It’s just quite a different feeling. It’s just a confidence-level thing.”
That confidence shows up in how he’s attacking the field, too. Nix said he used to steer away from throwing toward Patrick Surtain II, but that approach has changed. Now he’s willing to test one of the league’s toughest corners, even if the result is an incompletion.
“My first two years, if (Surtain) was over there, I pretty much worked to the other side of the field, but I don’t think that does him (any) diligence,” Nix said. “Now that I feel a little bit more confident and comfortable, I don’t mind throwing it his way and getting an incompletion on the stat sheet just to help him out every once in a while.
“He does a really good job, and every once in a while, when we get to complete one on him, it kind of feels good for the morale of the offense. It shows us that we’re also really good and we can attack the best player in football on defense.”
There’s still plenty of outside noise around where Nix stacks up among NFL quarterbacks, and Broncos coach Sean Payton has already stepped in at times this offseason to back his starter. That conversation could get a lot louder next offseason, when Denver may have to decide how much it values Nix on a deal that could top $60 million per year. Nix knows what’s ahead, but he’s not spending time on it.
“Competitively, the way we are as players, you better treat every year as a year you have to prove it,” Nix said. “You have to go out there and show the team that you’re worth what they’re putting in for you and what they’re building around you.
You can’t ever let up and think that, ‘I’ve made it. I’ve gotten to where I need to be.’
Quite honestly, I’ll never feel that way.
“There’s always the next season. There’s always the next championship to go after. I think every year for every player is going to feel like a contract year, because it should.”
Elsewhere in the AFC, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said Week 1 will bring a real test, especially with health and continuity still in question. He noted the group hasn’t had much luck with everyone available at the same time, and the opener will demand quick adjustments against a new coordinator and a young, unfamiliar setup.
“I’m not sure we’ve had a one-week stretch where we’ve had all the same guys (healthy)… It’ll be challenging… How well do you adjust during the game… We’ve played these guys before, but it is a new coordinator… The youth and newness will be one thing, and the in-game adjustments.”
Spagnuolo also said the defense may need time to settle in, though he hopes that process doesn’t cost the Chiefs early wins. That’s why the game plan has been trimmed down.
“It might take the first month… you just hope while you’re figuring it out that you win some games… That’s real… It’s going to take a little while… That’s why, going into this game plan, we try to shave things off because we want guys to play fast.”
Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said he was never concerned about Patrick Mahomes being ready for Week 1, adding that the quarterback has been grinding through his injury from the start.
“He’s been working his ass off since Day 1 of this injury… I’m not shocked or surprised… It shouldn’t be a story because of the nature of the competitor.”
Bieniemy also praised Rashee Rice for the way he has handled the work in front of him.
“He’s done an outstanding job… What I love about him is that he’s accepted the challenge to come out and work… My whole thing is getting him to understand and see it from a different point of view…”
In Other News...
Broncos Fans Just Got An Early AFC West Opening
The Broncos are heading into Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season with a timely opening in the AFC West already taking shape, thanks to the way the Chargers stumbled out of the gate. Los Angeles dropped a significant upset to the Arizona Cardinals, and for Denver, that kind of early division shakeup can matter as much as anything that happens on the field in September. It also adds a little extra intrigue to a Broncos opener against the Chiefs, because the division race can start tightening or tilting before most teams have settled in.
For the Chargers, the loss brings back familiar questions about how quickly a team can adjust after coaching changes and whether recent history will follow them again into another season. The Broncos do not need to solve those problems themselves, but they can certainly benefit if Los Angeles spends the fall digging out of an early hole. In a division where every result tends to echo for months, Denver suddenly has a clearer path to make Week 1 count in a bigger way. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Get A Week 1 Opening Chiefs Fans Will Hate
Opening week already looks a little different for Kansas City, and Denver has reason to take notice. The Chiefs have ruled out starting tackle Josh Simmons and starting safety Chamarri Conner for the Broncos visit, leaving them thinner on both the edge of the offensive line and in the back end of the defense as the season begins.
For a Broncos team that is expected to be healthy, that kind of early shuffle can matter. Kansas City is now likely leaning on a less experienced tackle combination and a secondary built around several newer faces, which could hand Denver some favorable matchups for both the pass rush and the passing game when the division rivals meet. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Week 1 Plan Vs Chiefs Is Starting To Take Shape
The Broncos Week 1 roster picture against the Chiefs is beginning to clarify, and it comes with a little bit of familiar roster juggling. Denver is expected to promote fullback Adam Prentice and long snapper Mitch Fraboni from the practice squad to the 53-man roster for the season opener, a move that fits the way the team managed both players through final cuts and back onto the practice squad.
General manager George Paton has already confirmed the roster-management plan, and Sean Payton has also weighed in on how the team is handling the fullback spot. For Denver, it is a small but telling part of the opener prep, especially with the Chiefs waiting and the Broncos looking to settle on the pieces they want in place before the real games begin. [Read more 🡒]