Bo Nix throws 4 touchdown passes, Broncos clobber Falcons

DENVER — They may not be the most talented, but the Broncos just may have proved they are one of the league’s most mentally tough teams.

Hangover? That’s for the weak. Not for a team led by Bo Nix, a remarkably strong-willed rookie quarterback. The Broncos bounced back from their devastating loss last week at Kansas City to whip the Atlanta Falcons, 38-6 in an NFL cross-conference game played on a spectacular mid-November Sunday afternoon at Empower Field at Mile High.

Coming off a blocked, close-range feld goal on the final play that turned 17-16 victory into 16-14 defeat, the Broncos could have gone either way Sunday against Atlanta.

Let that excruciating setback linger to the point the team would continue to lose momentum.

Or play inspired from knowing they had outplayed the two-time defending and then undefeated Chiefs, and deserved to win.

“It still gets back to the players, the makeup,” said Broncos’ head coach Sean Payton. “It gets back to the things we keep talking about: The grit, the toughness. It’s a team that’s different than a year ago in that it has that. Their response was really good.”

Nix said it took no time at all to move on from last week’s heartbreak.

“At the end of the game, you could have lined us all up and we could have played another four-quarter game against another team,” Nix said about the 16-14 loss to Kansas City last week. “We wanted to go right back into the fire. When you lose a game like that you feel like, man, that one was stolen from us but I want to get right back on the field and go out there and play a game,

“That’s how we felt this week. We had a great week of practice. Our preparation was phenomenal. Offense, defense, special teams we prepared like crazy. We fixed our mistakes that we wanted fixed. We came out and played with great effort, great intensity, great love for the guys around you.”

Nix’s intensity seemed to raise an octave with each sentence he spoke during his answer. Rookie or not, he is the leader of his team and his personality and uber focus on everything winning football means he is leading the proper way.

“He’s a special dude,” said left tackle Garett Bolles. “He’s relentless, he’s smart, he’s disciplined. That’s what you want as a quarterback. And when you have that type of guy back there and us five up front giving him time to throw the ball, he’s unbelievable. He can deliver the rock to our playmakers. We go as far as he’s playing. If he keeps playing like that, we’re a tough team to beat.”

With the bright sun both warming the air to a fall-perfect 55 degrees at kickoff and casting a major shadow across most of the playing field by halftime, the Broncos scored their touchdowns off four Nix passes and a brutish run by Javonte Williams.

The Nix TD throws: 12 yards to tight end Nate Adkins, a 12-yard screen to Marvin Mims Jr. with 25 seconds left in the half; a 7-yard screen to rookie Troy Franklin midway through the third quarter; and a 41-yard bootleg left throw to Lil’Jordan Humphrey in the fourth quarter.

At that point, Nix gave way to veteran backup Jarrett Stidham. Nix finished 28 of 33 for 307 yards, four touchdowns and 0 interceptions for a 145.0 passer rating. He should now be neck-and-neck with Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

“You get the feel you’re in good hands,” Payton said of Nix. “He’s smart with the football. He plays with his feet. A lot of times your calling plays for certain looks, the looks aren’t there, he’s got that ability to create and all the while protect the football. I thought he played really well.”

After Nix threw zero touchdown passes and 4 interceptions through the Broncos’ first two games, both losses, he has 14 touchdown throws against 2 picks in his 9 games since. The Broncos have gone 6-3 in that span. Daniels has 10 touchdown passes against 3 interceptions for the year.

“I think he’s the best young quarterback in the league right now,” Bolles said of Nix.

The Broncos also got a 45-yard, fourth quarter field goal from Wil Lutz — with Alex Forsyth blocking one slot over on the wing position, instead of the sacrificial “tight end” position where he played last week. Lutz and the field goal unit was also 5 of 5 on extra points.

The Falcons’ points came on field goals of 41 and 51 yards from Younghoo Koo.

The Broncos moved their record to 6-5, one game better than the 5-6 Indianapolis Colts for the No. 7 and final AFC playoff seed with six games remaining. The Broncos and Colts play each other Dec. 15 at Empower Field. Atlanta fell to 6-5 but still lead the NFC South Division.

The Broncos lost the coin flip for their sixth consecutive game, but unlike their previous five, they scored a touchdown off the opening drive. It started ominously, but on third-and-9, Nix stepped up in the pocket and found Courtland Sutton standing still and wide open on the sideline for a 16-yard gain. Then Nix connected twice with fellow rookie Devaughn Vele for 14 and 8 yards. Vele took a shot to the helmet after his second catch, an Atlanta penalty that set up first down at the 12.

Nix then hit wide-open backup tight end Nate Adkins on a misdirection pass for a 12-yard touchdown. Masterful execution by Nix, 7-0 Broncos.

Falcons’ quarterback Kirk Cousins nearly answered in his first possessions but two penalties wiped out two large gains in the red zone and Atlanta settled for a 41-yard field goal from embattled kicker Younghoo Koo.

Later in the second quarter, Nix led a 77-yard touchdown drive capped by Williams’ remarkably strong run. Williams first hit a nice-sized hole from the 14 to the 5 where he met former teammate Justin Simmons mano y mano. Simmons dug in with all his might as Williams’ legs kept churning. Then a group of Denver blockers joined Williams from behind. And once guard Quinn Meinerz arrived, Simmons and the Falcons’ defense had no chance. Williams was pushed forward through the end zone and never did go down.

“Yeah, when my feet came out the ground and I was still moving, I said, it must be Quinn,” Williams said with a laugh. 

“It’s going to take more than one guy to stop Javonte,” Meinerz said. “We got drafted here together, so I’ve known that from the beginning that it is going to take a couple more bodies. I can’t remember who else was there, but they’re bringing more tacklers, and we’re bringing more people. Ever since my (Wisconsin) Whitewater days, I’ve been taught to push the pile. So I got there, pushed the pile, and we ended up scoring. It’s so much fun scoring by pushing the pile.”

It was 14-3 Broncos with 6:16 left in the half.

Nix had one more possession before the end of the half and he used it to hum a 33-yard completion on a rope to Vele for a first down at the Atlanta 34. 

“We got some shell and some two-deep safety looks today which opens up the middle of the field,” Nix said. “Sometimes you have to take what they give you and they were giving us some over the middle shots today.”

Later in the drive, the Broncos were getting their field goal unit ready as they faced third-and-goal at the 12. But Payton called a timeout to find the right play. There on his large play sheet he picked out a receiver screen to Marvin Mims, who cut and slashed through the porous Atlanta secondary for a touchdown.

Cousins was ineffective, completing 16 of 25 for only 162 yards. He was also picked off once and sacked three times. He was replaced in the fourth quarter by first-round pick Michael Penix Jr., the No. 8 overall pick in the draft — four slots ahead of where the Broncos selected Nix.

“Our team is headed in the right direction,” Nix said.

“Got our butts kicked today,” said Atlanta head coach Rahim Morris. “Hats off to the Denver Broncos. Hats off to that team and coach Payton and the coaches and players on that team. They did a great job and got us real good.”  

The Broncos didn’t have starting safety Brandon Jones, their team leader in tackles with 84. He has an abdominal injury. There is hope he can play next week at Las Vegas. Devon Key made his third start in four games at safety. Key recently replaced the injured P.J. Locke for two games. …

Javonte Williams had a nice bounce-back game with 59 yards off 9 carries, including his memorable 14-yard rugby scrum push for a touchdown. He also had 28 yards receiving on four catches. 

Audric Estime, the leading rusher last week at Kansas City, had just six carries for 16 yards. He also had three catches for 9 yards. Jaleel McLaughlin had 19 yards rushing off four carries. …

Broncos had scored zero second-half points in their previous two games; 7 in their previous three. They snapped that drought right away against the Falcons thanks to a 37-yard punt return by Mims to set up the drive in Falcons’ territory. …

Mims had two punt returns for 47 yards and two receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown.  …

Sutton had seven catches for 78 yards. Vele had four catches for 66 yards. Humphrey had four catches for 52 yards and a touchdown. … 

Since he had zero targets in a decisive win at New Orleans, Sutton in the following four games has amassed 28 receptions for 370 yards — an average of 7 catches and 93 yards per game. …  

Defensively, inside linebacker Cody Barton got an interception off Cousins. Outside lineback Nik Bonitto had two sacks and now has 9.0 sacks in his last 9 games. Defensive tackle Malcolm Roach and outside linebackers Jonah Elliss also had a sack. Nickelback Ja’Quan McMillian was the leading tackler with 9. …

Jonah’s brother Kaden Elliss had 9 tackles for Atlanta. …

Falcons’ star running back Bijon Robinson was limited to just 35 yards rushing off 12 carries.