A quarterback entering his second season in the NFL can do one of two things: Take a second-year leap, or hit a sophomore slump.
One game isn't enough to make a full determination on which direction Bo Nix is heading. But there were legitimate reasons for concern coming out of Sunday's Denver Broncos win over the Tennessee Titans.
Nix, according to ESPN's Bill Barnwell, had the third-worst QBR of any quarterback this week (aside from those still to play on Monday night), ranking 28th-of-30.
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Barnwell also shared Nix's stats throwing down the field and against pressure, and they weren't good.
"Here, against a Titans defense that doesn't project to be very good, Nix managed only nine first downs on 42 dropbacks," Barnwell wrote. "He averaged 4.4 yards per attempt and was just 3-of-9 for 52 yards on throws traveling 10 or more yards downfield. Two of those nine attempts were interceptions, and on both picks, Nix simply didn't see a defensive back who was able to easily undercut his throw. When the Titans got pressure on him, he went 2-of-7 for 8 yards with two picks."
The Broncos have a strong defense, and that showed against No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward in his first career start.
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But the ceiling of Denver's season, just like in the rest of the NFL, rests on the quarterback position.
"The story on Nix in 2024 was that he struggled against stiff defenses while trailing and was very good when facing weaker teams and playing in positive game scripts," Barnwell writes. "Well, the Broncos were in this game from start to finish -- against the worst team in the league last season. This was the sort of matchup where Nix excelled last year, but instead, he was wildly disappointing in this season opener."