Oddsmakers tab Broncos as underdogs for Bo Nix Denver debut
Sep 11, 2024, 11:36 AM | Updated: 11:40 am
It’ll be a big day for quarterbacks in Denver come Sunday, when the future and present of the Broncos Bo Nix looks across the field and sees the past in the form of Russell Wilson.
Wilson may not start for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Week 2 contest due to injury, lifting Justin Fields back into the starting role for another week. Wilson’s connections to Denver are well known, with his two-year tenure ending this spring after going 11-19 as a starter which was not good enough to live up to his five-year $245 million deal. Sean Payton was brought in to solve some of the issues from Wilson’s first year but the coach benched the quarterback by season’s end and the cut resulted in a lot of dead money for the Broncos’ future while the player went to Pittsburgh.
He’s begun his time in black and yellow hurt, which led Fields to start Week 1. But Fields also has a Broncos connection as the team could’ve had him in the 2021 NFL Draft but selected Patrick Surtain II instead.
Even with the quarterback situation in flux for the Steelers, they stroll into the Mile High City coming off an 18-10 win against the Falcons and are favored to beat the Broncos by three points. Pittsburgh actually didn’t score a touchdown in their win, getting all their points from field goals but that’s still not as strange as how the Broncos scored their points during Week 1. Denver did wind up with a touchdown in their 26-20 loss to Seattle but it came at the very end of a game that featured two safeties by the Orange Crush-like defense. It’s these scoring combos that has put the over-under at 36.5, which is the lowest mark in the NFL for Week 2.
While many in Denver will want to boo Wilson, the future of Nix is the more pressing issue. Sunday represents not only the hope of what the former Heisman candidate could do but also step two of this new chapter of Broncos history. No doubt there will be some harsh feelings toward Wilson—no matter his playing status—but Payton will want to use that as extra motivation to improve from the season debut and score a home win.
