Sean Payton defends QB Bo Nix after sloppy Broncos win in Week 1

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is 1-0 in his career for the first time leading this team.

Payton lost to the Raiders in Week 1 in 2023 and the Seahawks in the opener a year ago.

It wasn’t pretty on Sunday, but the Broncos beat the Tennessee Titans 20-12 to begin the 2025 season with a victory.

This game was secured of the backs of the defense, as they had six sacks and two fumble recoveries. The offense largely struggled, with QB Bo Nix throwing two interceptions and also losing a fumble. He did find Courtland Sutton for a touchdown toss late in the first half.

Naturally, after the game, Sean Payton was asked for his thoughts on Nix’s struggles. The head coach pointed to the scoreboard to start.

“Well, we won, that’s the first thing,” Payton said.

They did indeed. The running game helped Nix out in the fourth quarter, with rookie RJ Harvey breaking a 50-yard run and then veteran J.K. Dobbins scampering in for a 19-yard touchdown. That took the lead from 13-12 to 20-12.

Still, Payton was always going to praise Nix, rather than focus on the negatives.

“Look, I thought he hung in there, he battled, made some critical plays for us in the second half,” Payton said. “Yeah, overall his job is to lead us to scores.”

The Broncos did just enough scoring on a day that will be remembered for the other side of the ball. Nix finished 25-40 for 176 yards and the one TD pass, to go along with the two picks.

“I thought he played real well in the second half and we won the game,” Payton said.

That’s debatable, as Nix threw one of his interceptions in the second half and Denver went 0-2 on fourth-down in the frame.

But at the end of the day, you have to like Sean Payton having the back of his guy. He’s going to ride or die with Nix, and it’s a lot easier to teach some lessons behind closed doors after a victory.

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