DENVER — In the aftermath of rookie quarterback Bo Nix's finest statistical performance of his young career, P.J. Locke looked ahead to the following week.
"I hope he gets Rookie of the Week again," Locke said.
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton, who caught seven of Nix's passes for 78 yards in a 38-6 win over the Falcons, did one better.
"The dude should be in conversations for Rookie of the Year," Sutton said. "There should be no hesitation."
And cornerback Pat Surtain II? Well, he hyped up the team's signal-caller even more after a four-touchdown, 300-yard performance.
"He's him," Surtain said. "I told him, 'Man, you're trying to win MVP. It's not even looking like Offensive Rookie of the Year. It's looking like MVP right now.' It's a testament to him. He puts the work in each and every week, and it shows with his preparation. He stays after hours to watch film [to] perfect his game. This is what you see from him. When you have games like this, it's not a surprise, because he puts the work in fundamentally each and every week."
While Nix may still have work to do to put himself in the Most Valuable Player conversation, he did set a slew of marks in a highly impressive performance against the Falcons.
Nix became the first rookie in NFL history to complete at least 80 percent of his passes while throwing for four touchdowns and 300 yards in a game, and he became just the third quarterback in franchise history — of any experience level — to hit those marks.
"[In] our league, you're learning each week and then pretty soon, you're like, 'I belong here,'" Head Coach Sean Payton said. "It's clear he belongs here."
As Nix set career highs in passing yards, completion percentage, passing touchdowns and passer rating, he also hit on a number of chunk plays. Nix completed four passes of at least 23 yards, including a 33-yard strike down the middle of the field to set up an end-of-half touchdown that gave Denver a 21-6 lead.
Nix had just two incompletions at halftime, and he finished 28-of-33 for 307 yards, four touchdowns and a 145.0 quarterback rating.
"I thought he played well," Payton said. "You feel like you're in good hands. He's smart with the football. He makes plays with his feet. A lot of times you're calling plays for certain looks [and] the looks aren't there. He has that ability to create and all the while protect the football. I thought he played really well."
Nix said he felt the performance coming from the moment he woke up on Sunday morning — and he turned that feeling into reality.
"Sometimes, you just wake up ready to roll," Nix said. "It is a blessing to be in my spot and my shoes. Each day is a new opportunity and a new time to go out there and play in front of a home crowd that showed up today. It was a lot of fun. We just have to continue and build to where we try to find these weeks as much as possible."
And while Nix said it's important for each player to feel like he belongs whenever he steps on the field, his teammates also understand his level of play may not be normal for most rookie players.
"Bo is not your average rookie," Locke said. "You can just tell his confidence is growing. His leadership is growing, and it's rubbing off on a lot of people. He's going out there and executing and getting that offense going. Man, it's a fun sight to see."
