Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos are 9-2 and in first place in the AFC following a massive win over the Kansas City Chiefs before the bye. While they’re putting together the best season the franchise has seen since the 2015 team that won the Super Bowl, there are still some doubts that this team can get things done in the postseason, despite having an otherworldly defense.
Oddsmakers think that the Chiefs have better odds of winning the conference and the Super Bowl than the Broncos, while the national pundits are still focused on the Bills, Chiefs and Ravens, the three teams that have dominated the AFC this decade, possibly making the playoffs rather than the Colts, Patriots or Broncos starting a new era of AFC football.
For Nix, who’s been a hot topic of discussion with his inconsistent play this season, he said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday the neither he nor his teammates are worried about the outside.
“We don’t try to get too focused up in the the narrative or the perception we that can go so many different ways… The moment we get so stuck in the moment to where, in another week, people be saying something totally different. So we try not to get too caught up in the chaos of what’s going on outside. We just try to live within our building and go to work every day, find ways to get better,” Nix said.
The second-year quarterback also spoke on the chemistry of the team and how tight-knit everyone in the building is. The Broncos returned a majority of the roster from last year, and the continuity of the coaching staff and the 53-man roster has been prevalent week in and week out, and it stems from the tough losses they suffered a year ago.
“We also know what it was like last year. We know it was like to lose some of these close games, and so we we have turned some of those around. We have had a better record in close football games this year. But I do think it just goes back to the, you know, the confidence and the belief of the team. We believe that we can win these games,” Nix said.
A season ago, Denver posted a mere 1-6 record in one-score contests. This season, that record has been flipped to 7-2, and it’s all because of the belief everyone in that locker room has in each other.
“After a couple of those games this year that went our way, we just kind of felt like, ‘Hey guys, we got this we can win these close games.’ We got really good defense that we can lean on. We got offensive playmakers that are going to make plays when time comes and then Wil [Lutz] has done a great job in clutch time. And so when you look at our team, look at how close we are, we just know what it can be like on the other side.”
While things have been good for the Broncos this season, there’s still plenty to improve upon, despite having the best record in the AFC. Given the chemistry that everyone has with each other, the collective goal is the same throughout the building.
“I think that’s also what’s keeping us a little bit urgent and hungry. We know we have these things to get better at, and so we don’t really have time to sit around and act like we’ve made it because, we really haven’t. We’re winning close games, and that’s what’s put us in this situation right now,” Nix said.
It’s no question that the Broncos have one of the most talented rosters and coaching staffs in the league. Since they have this level of chemistry in belief in one another, that’s why they’ve been able to be the comeback kids of the NFL and put themselves in the best position the organization has been in since 2015.
