ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — After a season worth of game-changing plays and last-minute heroics, Bo Nix had to watch the Broncos' playoff run end from afar.
During the Broncos' AFC Championship Game appearance, Nix cheered his team on from an Empower Field at Mile High suite — and Head Coach Sean Payton knows how difficult that must have been for Denver's quarterback.
"I'm sure there's disappointment for him to have to watch," Payton said Tuesday. "… I think it's difficult. … I think it's difficult to get as far as he brought us — and then maybe to see also one of his contemporaries [in Drake Maye], someone in his draft class, that he would've loved to [have] competed against [to] advance. It can be a tough game."
But as Nix recovers from surgery on his ankle — an injury Payton said doctors determined "was coming sooner than later" — and looks toward a return, his teammates believe the untimely end to his season could end up spurring him to future success.
"I can only imagine what this is going to do to fuel him," inside linebacker Alex Singleton said Monday.
Payton often mentions that confidence develops from demonstrated ability, and it's clear the Broncos' belief in their quarterback stems from the success he's helped Denver achieve in his first two seasons.
In 2025, the Broncos tied a franchise record for regular-season wins, earned their first division title in a decade and captured the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Nix led all NFL quarterbacks in game-winning drives in 2025, and he also posted six fourth-quarter comebacks including the postseason.
In a Divisional Round duel against the Bills' top-ranked passing defense, Nix threw for three touchdowns and delivered a go-ahead strike to Marvin Mims Jr. in the final minutes of regulation.
Time and time again, Nix has delivered. His teammates have certainly noticed — even if they can't always believe it.
"He's special," safety Talanoa Hufanga said Monday. "There's a reason why I wore a shirt with him on it. I want him to feel the confidence that I have in him. [He's] a dude that just goes out there and, regardless of the situation — you guys all saw it all year — it's these fourth quarters and this dude pulls this game out, and you're just like, 'How does he do it?'"
Through Nix's first two seasons, there are a slew of impressive stats at which to point. He joined Peyton Manning and Justin Herbert as the only players in NFL history with at least 3,500 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns in each of their first two seasons. He's only the third Broncos quarterback in franchise history with three passing touchdowns in a playoff game. Only Dan Marino and Patrick Mahomes have more games with four-plus passing touchdowns over their first two seasons.
And yet, the most impressive stats have to do with winning football games.
"I just think you evaluate a quarterback by how much he wins," General Manager George Paton said Tuesday. "And there's been no quarterback in his first two years who's won more than Bo. We can just start there."
Nix's 24 regular-season wins are tied for the most in NFL history in a player's first two seasons, and he posted more wins in 2025 than any quarterback has in a single season in franchise history.
Those numbers stem from Nix's late-game heroics, which Paton said could be counted on but cannot necessarily be taught.
"It got to the point where we're behind and Bo had the ball, and we're like, 'OK, we're going to win this,'" Paton said. "You can look at all the traits for quarterbacks: their arm strength, their accuracy, all that. … He has that 'It' factor. I don't think you can teach that. Either you have it, or you don't — and he has it. So, wow. [After] two years, we have a quarterback that can win, win at a high level. He's best in the big moments. We've seen that. Does he have areas to improve? Yes, like all quarterbacks. But if you have a quarterback that has that 'It' factor that's best in the big moments, that's pretty big."
As Nix rehabs from his injury and looks to return for Year 3, those around him know they have the right player at the game's most important position.
"That's the guy you want at the helm," Singleton said. "There's teams around the league that are fighting to find a guy to play that position, and we've found one. That's the biggest thing, is having a guy who can do that week in and week out, and he's shown that he's able to do that."
