ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Bo Nix's focus remains clear.
"It's all about winning," Nix said Wednesday. "It's all about putting our team in the best situation possible."
For the third-year quarterback, that means learning from the first four weeks of the season and striving for improvement as the Broncos' Week 5 matchup against the Chargers nears. That mindset isn't anything new, necessarily, but it's important all the same.
"There's never been a game that I've played that I didn't want to have a couple [plays] back," Nix said. "There were a couple of plays where I wanted to make a throw or maybe not pull the trigger or throw it to somebody else. That's just, unfortunately, what I've learned, is that you could play out of your mind, and I'd still go home thinking about one or two plays that are just driving me crazy. So, it's sort of a never-satisfied game.
"… There are definitely several things that I want to change and I want to get better at. That's going to happen."
In that process, Nix said it's critical to tune out "the noise and the distractions" and pay sole attention to the coaches and teammates that can assist with that improvement.
"When it comes to Xs and Os, it's all about our coaches and our players," Nix said.
In Head Coach Sean Payton's eyes, the improvement for a Broncos' offense looking to reach its potential comes in the small aspects of the game.
"Relative to the details of each play, that position's performance will go up as we all are," Payton said. "And the thing that I saw in the film was, yes, are there certain throws that from a timing standpoint he wants back? Yes. But I think collectively when you're playing well on offense, you're doing a lot of little things well, and then that job for him becomes somewhat easier. So, that's really the focus this week is the little things — detailing the little things — and we'll see that in the end product."
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton echoed Payton's sentiment, noting that "we have to tighten up as players" as the Broncos look to improve their offensive output.
"As a collective, we have to find a way to maximize the opportunities when they do pop up and minimize … the lack of attention to detail that may transpire over the course of a full game," Sutton said.
Capitalizing on opportunities can, at times, require a certain level of risk — and Nix said the fine line of making decisions is among the game's most difficult elements. As he makes those decisions, Nix said it's critical to evaluate the situation and what he's being asked to do on each play.
"I want to be aggressive," Nix said. "… When it's open, let's hit it. But at the same time, I've been gotten too many times trying to do too much. In this day and age in our offense, I don't have to be a hero on every play. I don't have to do too much. Get the ball to [RB] RJ [Harvey], and he'll run for 20 [yards]. That's just as good sometimes as throwing it 20 yards in the air. So, I'm actively looking at it and seeing where I can grow. The labels and stuff, that's where you can sort of get caught up in it. If you're not careful, turnovers may go through the roof and that's just not what I need to be doing."
Whether pushing the ball deep, finding the open passes underneath or taking off and running, Nix said his focus is on making the right decision in that moment.
As Nix aims to make those correct decisions and continue to improve, Sutton also emphasized the onus shouldn't fall solely on the quarterback's shoulders.
"To be a part of a team, to be a part of a unit, to be a part of a collective, we all have our hand in this pot," Sutton said. "I think it's always unfair when an offense is struggling that the blame goes directly to the quarterback. He's not the only one out there when we go play. There's 11 of us.
"… We all have to take accountability to say, 'What can I do to do more? What can I do to be better for this unit and for the team?' … We all have an opportunity and an obligation to figure out a way to get this going in the right direction."
To Payton, moving in that direction begins with the small focus.
"We've got to become experts in the details," Payton said.
