Bo Nix might need to spend some time on the bench

Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos beat the Seattle Seahawks 17-14 in overtime to finish the six-game gauntlet at 4-2, but Nix’s 107-yard night has the morning show asking a question nobody in Denver wanted to ask.

The Broncos got through the hardest stretch of their schedule with the record Mike Evans called the best-case target before the season. Denver beat the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks 17-14 in overtime on Thursday Night Football and finished the six-game gauntlet at 4-2. On paper, that’s a success.

The quarterback play is the problem. Bo Nix completed 17 of 27 passes for 107 yards against Seattle, the second-worst passing performance of his career. The only worse one came in his fourth career start, when he threw for 60 yards against the Jets in the pouring rain at MetLife Stadium. That game had an excuse. Thursday night didn’t. And it fits a trend that has been getting worse for weeks.

On a recent edition of “Stokley and Evans, with Mark Schlereth” on 104.3 The Fan, Schlereth brought up an idea that would have sounded ridiculous a month ago. He made a point of saying it didn’t come from frustration.

“I honestly have empathy,” Schlereth said.

He wanted to make sure nobody mistook his point for another round of criticism.

“But this is not me bashing Bo. This is me like, actually having empathy for Bo. Like dude, you are playing so poorly right now, and you can see it in your body language, you can see it in your face, you can see it in this offense,” Schlereth said.

That’s the part that makes this stretch hard to watch. The numbers have been bad all season. Bo Nix ranked 24th in QBR before Thursday, and Joel Klatt said earlier this week that the offense was averaging about 4 yards a pass. What Schlereth sees now goes beyond the stat sheet. The quarterback who played through a broken ankle in the playoffs and kept making fourth-quarter plays looks like he’s carrying something heavier than a bad week.

Schlereth’s answer is to take some of that weight off him.

“I think a break would be the best thing that you could do for him,” Schlereth said.

He then explained what that might sound like coming from Sean Payton.

“Sit him down. ‘Hey dude, you know what, honestly you’re not right, your ankle hurts, whatever it is. So let’s take a couple of weeks to get you right, and let’s figure that out, and let’s let Stiddy play for a while,'” Schlereth said.

The mention of the ankle matters. Bo Nix had two surgeries this offseason after the injury in the AFC Divisional Round, and the team has insisted he’s fully healthy. But the habits that have defined his season, bailing out of clean pockets, flushing to his right and missing easy first reads, are the kind of things that show up when a quarterback doesn’t fully trust his body. Schlereth isn’t claiming Bo Nix is hurt. He’s saying something isn’t right, and a couple of weeks off could give the Broncos time to find out what.

The idea carries obvious risk. Jarrett Stidham’s last meaningful start was the AFC Championship loss, and nobody in Denver wants to relive that. Benching a franchise quarterback, even for a short reset, also creates a story that’s hard to control.

Still, the Broncos are 4-2 because the defense and special teams keep bailing out the offense. That can’t last for 11 more games. If Bo Nix keeps playing like this, Payton may have to decide whether giving him time off is the best way to get his quarterback back.

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