NEW ORLEANS — The Broncos' season opener is still two weeks away, but Bo Nix's connection with Courtland Sutton already appears to be in midseason form.
Nix capped the starting offense's preseason action with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Sutton, concluding a three-drive outing for Denver's first-team unit. The starting offense's performance helped the Broncos earn a 28-19 win on Saturday over the Saints to cap off a 3-0 preseason.
"It's preseason, but we want to win in everything we do," Head Coach Sean Payton said.
After an initial three-and-out, the Broncos responded with a pair of scoring drives fueled by the 10-to-14 connection.
"Well, he means a lot [to us]," Nix said of Sutton after the game. "He's a veteran for this team. He has a lot of experience. He's a great receiver. … He just goes out there and competes. That's all you really want to ask for [from] a receiver, is a guy that will go out there and give you his all and compete, and he does it at a high level. Been doing it a long time. He's going to continue to do it this year and beyond."
Nix finished Saturday's preseason finale 10-of-14 for 110 yards, a touchdown and a 118.2 quarterback rating — and Sutton caught four of those passes for 83 yards in a little more than a quarter of action.
On a fourth-and-5 near midfield on Denver's second drive of the game, Nix delivered a perfect back-shoulder pass to Sutton for a 14-yard gain and a first down. Nix then escaped pressure in the pocket and flipped a pass to running back Tyler Badie to push Denver into the red zone, setting up an eventual 32-yard field goal.
In his final snaps of the preseason, Nix completed all four of his passes for 71 yards, a touchdown and a 158.3 rating on Denver's third possession — and 69 of those yards belonged to Sutton. After an unnecessary roughness penalty on New Orleans pushed Denver out of a potential third-and-long, Nix rolled to his left and delivered a sideline strike to Sutton. The Broncos' top receiver shrugged off contact and continued down the field before being tackled after a 43-yard gain.
On the next play, Nix went right back to Sutton. And then again two plays later, he stared down a free rusher and lofted a jump ball to Sutton.
"You know those are going to come up, you know you're going have to be moved off your platform," Nix said. "A lot of the big plays happen from a dirty pocket — whether it's you've got to move one way or a free rusher or you have to get out of the pocket. … It doesn't really matter, you've got to make the throw."
Sutton hauled in the pass to give the Broncos' starting offense its third scoring drive in six opportunities this preseason.
"You want to score and get out there," Payton said after the game. "I thought we did some good things."
Now, Nix and the Broncos' offense will turn their attention to their Week 1 opener against the Titans, which sits just over two weeks away. And while more preparation awaits, they're eager for their next challenge.
"Very ready," Nix said. "Very excited."
