Bo Nix has been put through the wringer since the Denver Broncos' 17-14 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football.

Throwing for just 107 yards against Seattle — on the heels of back-to-back lackluster performances against the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Chargers — Nix has been under fire in the media and on social media. There have been open calls to bench him — both from the local and national perspective — and no small number of Broncos fans have joined in.

After enjoying the fruits of a three-day mini-bye, Broncos head coach Sean Payton held court via Zoom on Monday morning, and his answer to whether he's considering benching a quarterback who's won 18 of his last 21 starts was as definitive as it gets.

“To answer your question, no," Payton said.

Payton said Nix's performance, far below the standard he set in his first two years, is a "byproduct" of all the little things the Broncos aren't executing on offense. The veteran coach believes that as the Broncos fix these things, Nix will improve as a "byproduct" of that process.

"He’s going to become the byproduct of all the finer things that get improved," Payton said of Nix. "The improved play from our offensive line, the more efficient we are relative to balance, running the football. That’s our jobs as coaches here. We talked after the game about we’re excited to get that win, and yet at the same time find that improvement we need in all areas. So, it starts with all of us.”

Payton says that he hasn't paid attention to the tsunami of Nix criticism in the press of late, but we know the veteran coach gets on X and keeps an eye on social media. He's been a strong defender of Nix publicly, including on social media, so it's hard to believe Payton hasn't seen at least some of the recent shade, but he said that his focus has been elsewhere.

“I try to focus on the next day here," Payton said of the Nix criticism. "We’re trying to focus on getting ready to play Arizona. That’s kind of where our attention is.”

The Tide That Raises All Ships

On one hand, it's easy to see that Nix hasn't gotten a lot of help from his supporting cast. On the other, a franchise quarterback is supposed to be the tide that raises all ships, making everyone around him better.

We certainly saw that from Nix in his first two seasons. After going four years without eclipsing the 1,000-yard receiving mark, wide receiver Courtland Sutton crossed that milestone in his first year with Nix, and repeated it last season with the added accolade of a Pro Bowl selection.

The Broncos' offensive line has been widely viewed as one of, if not the, best units in football — at least, going into this season. Nix had a big impact on that perception, too. Only one quarterback has been sacked fewer times than Nix since he entered the league in 2024.

Beyond the individual level, Nix obviously raised the Broncos' ship as a whole. This team went from missing the playoffs for eight straight years to earning a wildcard berth his rookie year.

Nix's Broncos followed that up in 2025 with a 14-win season, an AFC West crown, and the No. 1 playoff seed in the conference. Nix had the Broncos on the doorstep of the Super Bowl — hosting the AFC championship game — when he suffered a broken ankle.

So in every way possible, Nix has already proven to be the tide that raises all the ships around him. That's what has made his Year 3 performance so troubling.

All we can do is speculate on why Nix hasn't looked like himself, and beyond the obvious changes at offensive coordinator and play-caller with Davis Webb, the only explanation that makes any sense is that he's still dealing with the effects of his ankle injury. But both Nix and the Broncos have maintained that he's 100% recovered from the ankle injury, even if the eye test would beg to differ.

Even if Nix's ankle is fully healed, is his psyche? We've wondered about that, but one of the intangible traits that attracted the Broncos to Nix in the 2024 draft was his mental toughness and resilience. Fans can only hope that Nix's mental mettle can help him get through what appears to be a serious obstacle.

“This is a tough league. We hit every aspect, and I think that’s one of the things that attracted us to Bo in the beginning is we had seen his ability to climb through adversity," Payton said. "It’s not just Bo that feels that. Right now, offensively, I feel that, our players feel that and we’ll improve.”

Payton Bows Up

Payton remains adamant that Nix and the Broncos' offense will improve. Payton has taken ownership of the offense in his public remarks and by reclaiming the play-calling duties.

Payton didn't say "we'll try to improve." He said "We'll improve."

Fortunately, the Broncos are through the brutal gauntlet of their first six games, coming out as well as anyone could have hoped at 4-2. The schedule eases up a bit now, with a trip to take on the Arizona Cardinals (who just beat the Los Angeles Rams, by the way).

But that Cardinals road game will be followed by a rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs at Mile High. Then it's a road game against a better-than-expected Carolina Panthers team, followed by the Broncos' Week 10 bye.

I suspect things will be looking much better offensively by Week 11. Payton has changed Webb's verbiage back to his terminology, which certainly hasn't helped Nix from a mental bandwidth perspective, but those kinks are being worked out on the hoof.

The Takeaway

Payton is a coach who loves to get the last word. When Jacksonville's Liam Coen beat the Broncos in Denver last year, then talked some smack at the podium, Payton circled Week 2's rematch this season, telling Coen at the NFL owners meetings that he's coming for him. Denver won that game.

After Mike Macdonald's incendiary comments about Payton were caught on a hot mic a few weeks back, you can believe the Broncos' head coach double-circled Week 6. Payton won that game, too.

Payton can't miss all the hate being fired at his quarterback. It's about continuing to win games, sure, but you can trust Payton to double his efforts to get Nix and this offense rolling.

And when that day comes, Payton will stand at the podium and smirk, relishing the ridiculousness of being asked whether he'd consider benching a quarterback with a .700 career winning percentage. Yeah, you can believe Payton looks forward to that day, and it might not be too far off.