Broncos Win in Overtime, But Bo Nix’s Play Draws Sharp Criticism

The Denver Broncos escaped with a 17-14 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football, but the victory was overshadowed by a rough outing from quarterback Bo Nix, who drew pointed criticism from former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick during the postgame broadcast.

Denver’s defense carried the night, intercepting Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold to help secure the win. The offense, however, managed just 168 total yards. Nix completed 17 of 27 passes for only 107 yards, averaging 4 yards per attempt — his lowest mark of the season.

It was the second-fewest passing yards of Nix’s career, behind only a 60-yard performance in a Week 4, 2024 game against the Jets that was played in heavy rain. Thursday’s showing followed a 123-yard passing effort against the Chargers the previous Sunday.

Fitzpatrick, who played 17 seasons in the NFL, did not hold back on Prime Video’s postgame show.

“Bo Nix is not playing competitively,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he’s playing football.”

Asked to elaborate, Fitzpatrick continued: “First of all, the guy doesn’t want to throw the ball, that’s fine. He’s throwing to the flats, he’s throwing behind. He has no trust from his coach [Sean Payton]; he calls a screen play on third-and-8. Just run up and let the clock keep going. What’s he do? He throws it away, Seattle gets the ball, they have a timeout. And then, in overtime, he’s got two chances to be competitive, the second one being a designed run for him to run, make someone miss and get a first down for your football team! Now they’re in the locker room right now, they’re excited they won. He’s not playing competitive football right now!”

Host Charissa Thompson responded to the outburst by telling Fitzpatrick, “You are playing competitive broadcaster, and I love that you are fired up.”

Nix’s 2025 season had ended early after he fractured his ankle during the AFC divisional round, sidelining him for the conference championship game against the Patriots the following week.

Ahead of last week’s game in Los Angeles, head coach Sean Payton took over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Davis Webb. Despite two Broncos wins since that change, the quarterback play has remained inconsistent.

“I can only imagine how Sean Payton feels,” Fitzpatrick said. “Sean Payton, Davis Webb, everybody that blocks for him. He’s not competing right now, and that’s something that he’s hung his hat on the last two years. I don’t know if he’s still injured or what’s going on, but it’s not good enough — it’s effort.”