Story update: Pat Surtain deleted his tweet after this story was published. See our original post below.
Bo Nix struggled in his NFL debut on Sunday, completing 26-of-42 passes for 138 yards with no touchdown passes and two bad interceptions.
After the game, fans and pundits criticized the rookie’s performance on social media, including “Let’s Talk Broncos” co-host @Robby_NFL.
“Absolutely horrendous game from Nix,” Robby tweeted on Sunday night. “Horrible. I have felt this game would be rough and a blowout for sure, but I definitely didn’t expect him to look this bad. Every positive I’ve praised him for is gone. Bad footwork, wildly inaccurate, reading this out too slow, unsafe with the football. Everything. Hope it’s just first game jitters. Either way we’ll see against Pitt.”
Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain came across the tweet after the game and quickly came to the defense of his quarterback.
“Honestly this is what I expected not going to lie,” Surtain tweeted. “So fickle, this is part of the game stuff happens he played great! So quick to hate on someone and go on social media to talk about it. This is part of the process man it’s pathetic..”
To be fair to @Robby_NFL, he wasn’t “hating.” It was harsh analysis, but it was his honest take on the QB’s performance. Robby also said in a follow-up tweet that he expects Nix to improve, but Sunday’s performance was disheartening because the QB seemed to take a step backward.
Regardless of whether or not the criticism was fair, it’s good to see Surtain sticking up for his quarterback. Denver’s locker room believes in Nix and his teammates are backing the QB even after a rough NFL debut. That’s a good sign for the health of the team going forward.