Sean Payton has a message for Bo Nix after his missed throws

Bo Nix had another rough afternoon against the Los Angeles Chargers, and it was the Denver Broncos' quarterbacks near misses on deep throws that may have made the difference in the team's 23-20 last-second loss

BY JAKE SHAPIRO

Sep 21, 2025, 6:05 PM

Follow on Google News

Watch: Broncos "Scrimmage" Reveals Camp Winners | Orange and Blue Today | 48 mins

Bo Nix had another rough afternoon against the Los Angeles Chargers, and it was the Denver Broncos’ quarterbacks near misses on deep throws that may have made the difference in the team’s 23-20 last-second loss.

Nix connected on just 14 of his 24 passes for 153 yards and one touchdown. He started the game with more misses than makes in the first quarter before getting hot around halftime. Still, there were a few wide-open misses that could’ve not only given the Broncos a win but broken the game open.

Below you can see Nix’s passing chart, where he missed on three passes of over 30 air yards that were all hitable.

#Broncos QB Bo Nix’s pass chart from Week 3. pic.twitter.com/CLQ6qFnNzn

— Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) September 21, 2025

One of those plays is below, from Nix’s slow first quarter, where he could’ve hit a wide-open Marvin Mims Jr. for what would’ve been a 50-yard completion and at least a game-tying field goal. Instead, Denver had to punt on the next play.

Bo Nix bomb! 😳😳 pic.twitter.com/JTGPwZbJ76

— Wildcat Frank (@WildcatFrank69) September 21, 2025

“It varies like there’s the route at the end was, is kind of like a seam, almost a double move,” Sean Payton explained some of Nix’s misses. “The third and long flea flicker was close. Sometimes, if it’s a double move, your eyes can betray you a little bit, but I thought he’s throwing it really accurately, putting the ball in good places, protecting it.”

Nix did eventually hit on a long toss, finding Courtland Sutton on a fourth down for a touchdown from midfield. This started a 17-0 run from the Broncos that gave them a lead early in the second half.

Bo Nix's 52-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton on 4th & 2 in the final minute of the first half nearly doubled the Broncos' win probability.

🔹 Before TD: 17.9%
🔹 After TD: 32.1% 📈#DENvsLAC | #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/RHimeUitJD

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 21, 2025

Payton shared a message for Nix after the game regarding the misses.

“Keep slinging it,” the coach said. “There’s no conversation, keep slinging it. The last thing you want is to… those are almost spot on.”

Even if Nix reels in the long tosses, the Broncos need to find a way to keep moving the ball. They only picked up nine first downs on Sunday, the second fewest by any team in a game so far this season.

“We knew they were going to take away the shots, take away all this stuff deep, they were going to play a shell and keep everything in front of them,” Niz said. “We were going to have to run the ball efficiently and complete underneath passes. We didn’t do either one of those two.”

The 1-2 Broncos host the banged-up 2-1 Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football next week.