Bo Nix shows his growth in how he handles the blitz

Bo Nix isn’t all the way there yet. And on Monday, Sean Payton wanted to make that clear

“The film showed he’s playing well,” Payton said. “The film showed a few things, though, that I wanted to scream at him about. We’ll keep correcting those things.”

But Sunday’s effort in the Broncos’ 38-6 demolition of the Atlanta Falcons was his most efficient as a pro. And, by the passing-efficiency metric, one of the most efficient by a rookie in NFL history.

Nix was at his most efficient when the Atlanta Falcons dialed up a blitz. As cataloged by Pro Football Focus, Nix threw 12 times against a blitz on Sunday, with 10 completions for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns. But success against the blitz was nothing new for Nix; he’d posted a 130.3 passer rating in the previous three games against the Carolina Panthers, Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs when blitzed.

 

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His form of the first four weeks — when his rating against blitzes was just 65.8 — seemed a long way off. And when expanding the sample size through Week 7, it wasn’t much better; he had a 70.2 rating against the blitz through the Oct. 17 win at New Orleans.

Against Carolina, it started to change. His passer rating against the blitz in the last four weeks is a scalding 142.4. He’s averaged 9.95 yards per attempt int that span when blitzed, and has thrown 5 touchdowns at the expense of the blitz.

Given that a hallmark of most outstanding NFL quarterbacks is an ability to make teams pay for blitzing, this is a massive development. And if they become reluctant to blitz, Nix should have more time to operate in the pocket, a place where his composure and accuracy continues to grow, too.

And it’s because of improvements like this that Payton can expand his menu for the quarterback. Maybe not to the levels of the Cheesesteak Factory, but at least to something beyond the size of an In-n-Out menu.

PASSING OFFENSE: A-PLUS

Payton will find flaws on which to work this week, and Nix’s rating wasn’t officially, statistically perfect, as it fell short of 158.3. But it’s hard to imagine a finer performance for the rookie. And when you consider that it fits well alongside his improved form in recent weeks, the optimism that it won’t be a false dawn is justified. He spread the ball around, connecting with nine different pass-catching targets. Protection was sound; the Falcons recorded just three hits of Nix.

RUSHING OFFENSE: B

The “hot-hand” approach worked for a second-consecutive week, with Javonte Williams providing most of the work that scalded the Falcons defense. Williams, Audric Estimé and Jaleel McLaughlin combined to average 4.95 yards per carry, with Williams pacing the way at a 6.56-yards-per-rush clip.

PASSING DEFENSE: B

Kirk Cousins and the Falcons found rhythm in brief spurts during the first half, but the Broncos’ rush-and-cover combination locked down in scoring range on each of Atlanta’s two deep forays, forcing the Dirty Birds to settle for a pair of field goals that did nothing to prevent the Broncos from easing to a massive lead. Six different Broncos front-seven contributors recorded pressures of Cousins, who was never allowed to get comfortable.

RUSHING DEFENSE: A-PLUS

The two-pronged attack of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allegier never found its footing, as the Broncos defensive line closed off holes while their edge rushers were stout at the point of attack, particularly Nik Bonitto, who continues to demonstrate that he has grown into a complete edge rusher thanks to better technique, growing experience at diagnosis and the addition of bulk to become sturdier against the run.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

Marvin Mims Jr. appears to be at the brink of an explosion for what would be the first punt-return touchdown of his young career. He’s up to third in the NFL in punt-return average this season, and in November has averaged 20.6 yards per punt runback, bolstered by a 37-yard return Sunday. Even his 6-yard return was a breathtaking, cross-field work of art. His spark is back. On field-goal protection, the Broncos made a tweak to their left flank, flip-flopping Alex Forsyth and Matt Peart, with Forsyth moving outside. There were no snafus.