With Bo Nix, it’s better to have a warrior than a steady quarterback

Watching Bo Nix is never relaxing. One week he opens on fire and cools off after halftime. The next week he doesn’t throw a touchdown until the fourth quarter, and that touchdown wins the game.

Broncos Country knows the pattern well by now. Slow starts have become part of this team’s identity, and Nix is a big reason why.

But the Broncos have kept winning. Nix has taken Denver to two playoff appearances and leads his draft class in most major statistical categories. This season, the Broncos erased a 16-0 halftime deficit to beat the Rams and scored 14 unanswered fourth-quarter points to get past Jacksonville.

On a recent edition of “Stokley and Evans, with Mark Schlereth” on 104.3 The Fan, Fox Sports NFL analyst Joel Klatt was asked how he sees it.

“Where are you with Bo Nix, and the way he has played, and just where he is in his development?” Schlereth asked.

Klatt’s first answer was short.

“I think it’s okay,” Klatt said.

Then, he explained what he values most in a quarterback.

“Here’s the thing. I would much rather have a guy who in the normal course of the game, Stink I’m like ‘I’d love it to look cleaner.’ But, in the most important parts of the game, plays like an absolute warrior,” Klatt said.

Klatt doesn’t pretend the early-game problems aren’t there. He admits the first three quarters often need to look cleaner. But in his view, the plays that decide a game matter more than the ones that just fill out the box score.

He then described the kind of quarterback he’d rather avoid.

“I would rather have that guy, than a guy that like, it looks great, he makes all the right reads, boy his development’s on track. And then we get to those situations, those big moments, and he folds,” Klatt said.

Every fan base has seen that type. He looks polished through September and puts up good numbers, then misses the throw or makes the costly mistake when the game is on the line. Nix has shown he’s the opposite.

The slow starts still need fixing, and falling behind early will eventually cost Denver a game it can’t afford to lose. But Klatt’s point is hard to argue with. If Nix keeps delivering in the fourth quarter, the Broncos can live with some messy first halves.

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