How Did Bo Nix Do In NFL Debut?

Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix made his debut in Sunday's 26-20 Week 1 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks. Nix completed 26-of-42 passing attempts for 138 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions. It was an erratic performance by Nix.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton tried to toe the line between protecting his rookie quarterback and calling an offense with passing-game volume. On one hand, it was a tad surprising that Nix attempted 42 passes, the third-most of any quarterback that played on Sunday. On the other hand, Nix averaged 3.3 yards per attempt, tied for the sixth-lowest YPA in any game with at least 40 pass attempts since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, per Benjamin Solak.

Nix particularly struggled on passes that traveled past 10 air yards. The former Oregon standout posted a 2-of-12 line for 42 yards with both of his interceptions arriving via such attempts. The bolder Nix got, the more Denver's offense suffered.

Nix's first interception occurred in a 3-3 ballgame with the Broncos within field goal range. Nix heaved a pass into the end zone off his back foot. Seahawks safety Julian Love easily stepped in front of the ball.

Nix's second interception was an ill-advised attempt derived from desperation with his Broncos trailing 26-13 late in the fourth quarter. Nix rolled to his right after taking a shotgun snap, reset his feet, and threw a pass into triple coverage. It was picked off by Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen.

The analytics don’t paint a prettier picture. Nix’s completed air yards of 2.5 ranked second-last among all quarterbacks on Sunday, besting just fellow rookie QB Jayden Daniels and his 1.6 mark, according to Next Gen Stats. Despite most of Nix’s passes being near or around the line of scrimmage, his average time to throw was 2.84, below the typical league average, and the 10th-worst result in Week 1.

Nix routinely threw the ball short of the first-down marker with an average air yards to sticks of -2.3. Nix's Next Gen Stats' passer rating was 47.5, a mark which was only "outdone" by putrid performances by Bryce Young (32.8) and Daniel Jones (44.3). Nix's Completion Percentage Above Expectation (CPAE) was -7, the 10th-worst among 30 Week 1 quarterbacks.

This was always an incredibly difficult debut matchup for Nix on paper. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was the defensive coordinator of a Baltimore Ravens defense last season that became the first unit in NFL history to rank first in points allowed per contest (16.5), sacks (60), and takeaways (31, tied with New York Giants). Macdonald had to be relishing his opportunity to throw his complex defense at an inexperienced QB like Nix.

The road ahead doesn't get easier for Nix. The Pittsburgh Steelers are his Week 2 opponent. On Sunday, Mike Tomlin's suffocating defense held a better Atlanta Falcons offense to 10 points, 226 net yards of offense, and 2-of-9 on third down.

Payton kept the training wheels on Nix and indications are that was the correct decision. Even still, Nix found a way to throw two interceptions while mightily struggling when throwing five-plus yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Denver will expect growth from their rookie quarterback as the campaign progresses forward.