Sean Payton takes inspiration from TV show ‘The Bear’ to fix Bo Nix

Everyone knows the Denver Broncos offense isn’t cooking right now. It’s missing some ingredients. So Sean Payton looked to TV’s favorite kitchen for a solution.

The Broncos beat the Los Angeles Chargers 23-17 on Sunday in Payton’s first game back as play-caller since he took the job from first-year offensive coordinator Davis Webb. The chef changed, but the ingredients didn’t. So Payton borrowed from a struggling Chicago sandwich shop that eventually earned a Michelin star.

Payton used a line from the FX series “The Bear” to describe what he wants from his quarterback, Bo Nix.

“I said, ‘Man, you’re the guy we wanted here. Let’s go,'” Payton said. “It’s important that, you know, in that old TV series ‘The Bear,’ where they just said, you know, ‘Let her rip.’ I want him to make sure that, hey, let her rip.”

The line belongs to Michael “Mikey” Berzatto, Jon Bernthal’s character, who said “Let it rip” to push his younger brother Carmy when he doubted himself. Payton needs Nix to be his Carmy.

On Sunday, Nix looked like Carmy in the early episodes: a floundering work in progress with potential.

Nix completed 16 of 27 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. He also lost a fumble on a third-quarter scramble when Tuli Tuipulotu knocked the ball loose and recovered it. On the next play, Kimani Vidal ran 42 yards for a touchdown that gave Los Angeles a 17-10 lead.

Denver also converted just one third down all game.

And yet the Broncos started five drives in Los Angeles territory, four in the fourth quarter alone, thanks to brutal play by the Chargers. With those short fields, Nix led his 11th career fourth-quarter comeback.

“I don’t think it was my best for sure,” Nix said. “The game, the feel and the results of drives told me that it wasn’t necessarily pretty. But we just found a way to win.”

After five games, Nix has completed 59.9% of his passes for 942 yards, with six touchdowns and three interceptions. His 5.8 yards per attempt and 80.8 passer rating are down from 6.7 and 93.3 as a rookie in 2024, and from 6.4 and 87.8 last season. He has also run for just 35 yards on 18 carries. That’s 1.9 yards per carry, after he averaged more than 4 yards a carry in each of his first two seasons.

Payton said part of the fix starts with the offensive line.

“Obviously, there’s a lot been said about his feet. I think he’s settling that down,” Payton said. “I think it’s important from a protection standpoint that early in games we provide that clean pocket so that clock doesn’t get juiced up a little bit.”

Denver ran for 106 yards and dropped back to pass less than usual. When the Broncos needed a play, Nix made enough. His 5-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton tied the game at 17 midway through the fourth quarter.

Payton also said he is cutting back on what Nix and the offense have to process before the snap: every play, every motion, every shift. He said he learned that from Bill Parcells, his former boss in Dallas.

“Bill (Parcells) taught me one thing,” Payton said. “If you’re not having the output you’re looking for, then you have to look at reducing the variables. So we’re trying to do that, reduce the variables so guys can play faster.”

Nix said he understands what Payton means and that a quarterback has to earn it.

“When a coach says ‘let it rip,’ it means play what you see, have good vision, and I think there’s a little subtle piece of offensive execution we’re still working toward,” Nix said. “Let it rip is one of the best things you can do as a quarterback, but you have to earn that right with your preparation. Earn the right to react so you can let it rip.”

He said he did that some of the time Sunday.

“There was times I felt like I let it rip good, you know, when the play was there,” Nix said. “There’s other times I feel like there’s still some things that I could either see or process.”

Right tackle Mike McGlinchey saw enough ripping from his quarterback.

“I thought Bo played with great poise throughout the game today,” McGlinchey said. “He managed the game, did a great job in the huddle keeping us together and he helped us win.”

The Broncos (3-2) have a short week before hosting defending champion Seattle on Thursday night.

“We’re five weeks in, right?” Payton said. “We’re just at the beginning here.”

Carmy’s kitchen didn’t earn their star until season five — this is just the third year of Nix.

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