The Denver Broncos had six scoring drives against the New Orleans Saints last week, but only two offensive touchdowns.
After the game, rookie quarterback Bo Nix said, “we have to turn some of those field goals into touchdowns.”
Finishing off drives in the end zone is one area where Denver’s offense can improve. Nix also has plenty of room to improve himself, and he knows it.
“I think about the [plays] that I could have had back,” Nix said after a 33-10 victory over the Saints. “I think that is just competitive nature for guys. You do want to give yourself some grace at times. They [the defense] are obviously trying to keep you from doing all of the good stuff. You live and you learn, and you continue to work.
“Nobody has ever played a perfect game, so that is why we are all still here trying to figure it out and continue to move forward. Obviously, the most important thing is to win the game. When you beat a team like that with really good players by that big of a margin, it is really good. It is good to see all of the guys play and play well.”
One area in particular where Nix could improve is his footwork. The rookie sometimes breaks the pocket when his protection is holding up, and even worse, he sometimes throws with unsettled feet when he has time to settle down before making a throw.
Broncos coach Sean Payton was asked about coaching up Nix’s footwork during his Zoom conference call with reporters on Monday.
“I think you have to be careful you’re not over-coaching,” Payton said. “There are some things he does very well out of the pocket or climbing up in the pocket. I think we start with the focus on timing of the route, the depth of the route in the gun or under center, [is it a] three, five or seven [-step drop back]? We work on the rhythm of the play so that his feet marry up to the depth of the route.
“The times where he’s climbing the pocket or moving in the pocket, we’re pretty smart about how much we saw or how much we try to fix.”
Nix has made progress since Week 1. Now he needs to show consistency. This week, Nix will face a Carolina Panthers defense that ranks third-worst in yards allowed (385.7), eighth-worst in passing yards allowed (223.6) and dead last in points allowed (34.7) per game. Nix will have a good opportunity to take another step forward in his development on Sunday.
