ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Quarterback Bo Nix may have never experienced the Raiders rivalry before, but he played like he understood it.
The rookie put together his strongest performance of the season in Week 5, setting career highs in completion percentage (70.4%), passing touchdowns (2) and total touchdowns (3) in the 34-18 victory.
What Nix is focused on now, though, is finding a way to replicate the performance in Week 6 against the Chargers.
"I think consistency is the key," Nix said Wednesday on how he plans to continue developing this season. "I've been able to make strides just in five weeks, but [I] have to continue to find those areas of improvement each game."
Nix has shown his ability to learn and adjust through the first five weeks of the season, specifically when it comes to ball security and avoiding negative plays. Nix did not take a single sack during Denver's two-week road trip to Tampa and New York, and he has not thrown an interception since Week 2. He has also shown significant improvement in downfield passing over the last two games, improving to a 102.5 passer rating on throws of 10-plus air yards.
Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi expects this consistent improvement to continue to come with more experience.
"Every week brings a new challenge, a new defense," Lombardi said Thursday. "And the more you do it, the quicker you adjust to it."
Head Coach Sean Payton noted that Nix has already shown his potential to embrace that challenge and thrive, commending his "ability to process" a defense and find ways to avoid negative plays.
"Getting through a progression quickly and a decision quickly is extremely helpful in avoiding taking unnecessary sacks," Payton said Wednesday. "If you're processing slowly and you're having to see it longer, then it's just another 'One Mississippi' with the ball in your hands. His ability to process — aside from, obviously, he can move — but his ability to process helps that greatly."
Payton said that it will still be important for coaches and players alike to continue "providing the perfect pictures" for Nix, and Denver showed glimpses of that in Week 5. Eleven different players had at least one reception in the victory, which was a single-game franchise record and showed the offense's ability to provide Nix with options. Moving forward, Lombardi noted it will be important to continue to put Nix in situations that allow him to reach his full potential.
"I think it's both ends of the spectrum," he said. "Us making sure that we're forming a game plan he's comfortable with, and then just with experience, he'll keep getting more comfortable. I think with that will come more consistency."
As Nix now looks ahead to Week 6 and beyond, he will aim to build on last week's positive performance while stressing the importance of consistency and steady improvement this season.
"You're always going to look back and want a few back," Nix said. "[You are going to] make some mistakes in games and wish you could do it different. That's why you play again and again. Just being consistent is the main thing, and continuing to not turn the ball over and put your team in a good spot."
DC VANCE JOSEPH STRESSES REBOUNDING FROM ADVERSITY
Through Week 5 of the season, Denver's defense has established itself as one of the top units in the league in many categories.
But on Sunday, the unit encountered a new challenge as the Raiders scored a touchdown on the team's opening drive. It was the first time Denver's defense had faced that kind of pressure this season, but the Broncos were able to find a rhythm and make some big plays to turn the momentum. Joseph commended Pat Surtain II for his crucial pick six, noting that it came at a key moment that likely changed the trajectory of the game.
"We didn't start off the way we have in the last two weeks," Joseph said Thursday. "It was a slow start. It wasn't good early. And Pat made a play that kind of turned it. So, that's good for our defense."
Joseph said it is important for his defense to remember that these ups and downs are not only normal parts of games, but of seasons, noting that "every team's going to have adversity this year." The key to finding success is not avoiding those moments, but rather, being prepared to handle them.
"We had some [adversity] early," Joseph said of Denver's 0-2 start. "We've had some good fortune, but it's coming back. It happened Sunday morning. Our defense had some adversity early, and we played through it. So, that's just checking boxes. And I was proud of us how we came out of that. … It happens daily, it happens weekly, it happens over the month. So, just having your guys ready to handle it, that's the key."
Joseph said an important part of navigating this will be ensuring that his unit gets back to "baseline" each week, ready to approach the next game with the same attitude regardless of a win or loss.
"You don't have time, even when it's good, to celebrate too long," he said. "After the game, 24 hours, it's over. That's win or lose. And the teams in this league who can get back to baseline of correcting and getting better quickly, they can win the next week."
