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AFC Offensive Player of Week latest honor for ‘grounded’ Broncos rookie Bo Nix

ENGLEWOOD – The Broncos used to put out a hard copy of their annual media guide but now it’s only online. That might make it easier to keep up with everything Bo Nix ends up doing.

The Broncos quarterback Wednesday was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week, the latest honor for the rookie. And 11 games into the season he’s already putting his name in the record book in all sorts of rookie categories.

“The record book is going to be hit pretty hard by him,’’ wide receiver Courtland Sutton said after a practice at Broncos Park.

In last Sunday’s 38-6 win over Atlanta, Nix completed 28 of 33 passes (84.8%) for 307 yards with four touchdowns, enabling him to become the first rookie in NFL history to have a game with 300 or more passing yards and four or more touchdown passes while completing more than 80% of his passes. Nix is now up to 14 touchdown passes this season, tying a rookie team record that was set by Marlin Briscoe in 1968. He can break it on Sunday at Las Vegas.

On Wednesday, Nix was named a FedEx Air & Ground Player of the Week in addition to getting the AFC honor. That followed being named NFL Rookie of the Week last week and having for October gotten NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month.

“I understand what it’s like to be playing well, and then also not playing well,’’ Nix said about all the accolades that have been coming his way. “So (I) definitely want to continue playing well. It’s just being able to stay grounded with being able to handle the highs and the lows and just remain the same.”

He did call being getting the AFC award “cool” and a “great honor.” He became just the 10th Broncos rookie and first rookie quarterback and the first Denver quarterback since Trevor Siemian in 2016 to be named as such.

“It’s a great responsibility, but at the same time it doesn’t end with just that,’’ said, taken with the No. 12 pick in last April’s draft out of Oregon. “You obviously have to continue to go back. They only remember your last game, so you have to go out there and continue to do it. … (There is) a lot of work left to be done.”

Indeed, there is. But with the consistency Nix has shown lately, there’s no reason to believe he’s going to slow down anytime soon.

Nix was up and down at the beginning of the season, and the Broncos started 0-2. He looked really good in a 26-7 win at Tampa Bay in Week 3 but then struggled in a 10-9 win at the New York Jets in Week 4. But the rainy weather had a lot to do with that.

In the last seven games, Nix has thrown for 1,615 yards with 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions. His passer rating of 106.3 is the fourth best in the NFL during that span as the Broncos have raised their record to 6-5.

“I think experience being on this level and playing well over 10 games now,’’ Nix, who has played in 13 games when the preseason is included, said of the consistency he has been showing. “You can learn (with that game experience). Still learning, still growing, but just finding ways to execute the play that’s called, no matter what it is.”

Recently, Nix has developed quite a rapport with Sutton. Over the past four games, Sutton has caught 28 passes for 370 yards to give him 49 receptions for 647 yards on the season.

“The word I would use, I feel like I would need to find a good thesaurus to be able to describe how excited I am for (Nix) and how happy I am for him,’’ said Sutton, who had seen the Broncos go through 10 previous starting quarterbacks after joining the team in 2018. “The dude shows up for work hungry for more. … (He’s) a guy that you can tell loves the game.

“There’s nothing boring about listening to him talk ball because he just has so many ideas, has so much joy. … God willing, he’s going to have a long, healthy successful career and this is just the tip of the iceberg for him. … He’s hitting a ceiling and breaking through it and going onto the next one. … He’s only going to ascend from here.”

Sutton is doing nothing to slow down the hype train on Nix even if Broncos coach Sean Payton has been trying to reel it in a bit. Payton, while he has been largely complimentary of his quarterback, said Monday, “Let’s not send this kid to (the Pro Football Hall of Fame in) Canton quite yet.”

Payton did note Wednesday how pleased he is with the consistency Nix has shown.

“I’m proud of where he’s at,’’ Payton said. “He works tirelessly and (has) confidence in his teammates. All of that stuff is what you hope to see. The best part is he’s very grounded and he’s very team driven relative to what’s important. We just want to keep building on that.”

Next up for Nix is the rematch with the Raiders (2-8). In the first meeting this season, a 34-18 Denver home win on Oct. 6, that marked the start of Nix’s impressive seven-game stretch. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 206 yards while throwing for two touchdowns and running for another.

“We’ll be prepared,’’ Nix said of facing a team for the second time for the first time in his NFL career. “We’ll have some changeups, but they’ll have some too.”

If all goes well for Nix, look for more updates to the record book.

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) celebrates with fans after beating the Atlanta Falcons 38-6 of an NFL football game Sunday November 17, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Bart Young) (Bart Young)
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) celebrates with fans after beating the Atlanta Falcons 38-6 of an NFL football game Sunday November 17, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Bart Young) (Bart Young)
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