DENVER — There is good reason why Bo Nix is the teacher’s pet.
Listen to how Sean Payton’s top football student explained his 93-yard touchdown strike down the middle to Marvin Mims Jr. in the Broncos’ 41-32 win Monday night at Empower Field at Mile High.
“They were playing 2-Tampa invert,’’ Nix said after the Broncos’ enthralling, 41-32 win Monday night against the Cleveland Browns. “Their corners were going back. As soon as I saw the “Mike” kind of carry, they only do that in Tampa-2, so I knew it was a two-on-one to the field.”
Jameis Winston, the Browns’ quarterback, might of said something like, ‘I threw it out there and the receiver made a great play.’ Russell Wilson would have credited each member of the offensive line for blocking, the play call, Mims for making the play, the film study and work put in during the week of practice to help make that play go, all without offering anything specific.
Nix got specific. He is Payton’s fave because the student sitting in the front row knows the game from a coach’s brainwave. The ‘Mike” or middle linebacker, in this case Jordan Hicks, carried (or dropped back) and he only does that in a Tampa-2 coverage. The safety who could have more easily covered Mims on the play, Rodney McLeod, was distracted by another receiver route in the area and stood still. Left cornerback Denzel Ward rotated over to deep centerfield but instead of making a play on Mims, gambled on trying to cut in on the pass.
Too late. Ward whiffed. Mims had a touchdown the moment he caught the ball at the Broncos’ 43 yard line.
Robo Bo then made The Throw, drilling it from 3 or 4 yards deep in his own end zone. Nearly 50 yards on a line, dropped on a dime. No football observer will see a better pure pass all season.
“We hit that turkey hole,’’ Payton said.
“Bo ended up trusting me and put the ball in a perfect place -- literally,’’ Mims said.
“Marvin with his speed, just had to get it out there,’’ Nix said. “He did a great job splitting the field. Their guy (Ward) couldn’t get to it. Just kind of heard the crowd go crazy, and it was one of those awesome plays that you don’t get often, but they’re pretty fun.”
After a slow start that, looking back, was a necessary learning experience, Payton and Nix have led the Broncos to the cusp of a playoff berth. The Broncos are 8-5 with a three-game winning streak and a two-game lead over the Indianapolis Colts for the No. 7 and final AFC playoff seed as they break for their bye week.
“We’re a confident bunch right now,’’ Nix said. “We’re playing aggressively. We’re playing together. We’re playing with a little bit of confidence and a chip on our shoulder. Just trying to continue to prove not only to other people but to ourselves that we have a really good football team. We’re starting to play like it.’’
Never mind analyzing whether the bye comes at the right time – for players who have been banging muscles and bones for 13 straight games like Ben Powers, Garett Bolles, Quinn Meinerz, D.J. Jones, John Franklin-Myers, Jonathon Cooper and Cody Barton, the break is needed. Overdue. When play resumes on the other side, the Broncos will take on the 6-7 Colts at Empower Field at Mile High. The Colts will also be coming off their bye week for that Sunday, Dec. 15 game, so no real rest advantage there.
Beat the Colts and the Broncos will have their 9th win that figures to elude all their closest contenders for the No. 7 playoff spot. Lose to the Colts and the Broncos will have to sweat their final three games of the regular season – at the 8-4 Los Angeles Chargers, at the disappointing 4-8 Bengals and home against the 11-1 Chiefs – to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
“We have a lot of ball behind us, and it’s kind of set us up for this,’’ Nix said. “A good week of rest, good week of just kind of a reset. Then we have four more games. Four tough games to battle through down the stretch. We’re going for a playoff spot. We’re going for longer in the season. So (the bye week’s) going to be good for us. I think the guys are going to enjoy it, but we’re also going to be I think excited to get back and finish this thing out the right way.”
Bo knows. That’s what makes him Payton’s kind of guy. He knows.
