Bo Nix posted his first NFL win last week. The Denver Broncos quarterback played the best game of his young career in the team's surprising 26-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3.
Nix and the Broncos (1-2) have a much tougher task on Sunday when they face Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets in Week 4. The rookie quarterback will face the future Hall of Famer, one of the quarterbacks he watched growing up.
"It's pretty surreal. I grew up watching him do all his cool plays for so long," Nix told reporters on Friday. "It's crazy that I get to go out there and play against him. [I'm] really looking forward to meeting him for the first time. It's hard to put into words that on Sunday, you get to play a great like that."
Rodgers is healthy and the Jets (2-1) have won two consecutive games following a season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He'll have a little extra motivation.
Denver head coach Sean Payton criticized his predecessor, Nathaniel Hackett, during the summer of 2023. Hackett is now the offensive coordinator of the Jets and he gained a measure of revenge when the Jets defeated the Broncos 31-21 at Mile High Stadium in Week 5 last season. The Jets rolled past the Broncos even though they were without Rodgers, who was out for the season after tearing his Achilles tendon in Week 1.
The Rodgers and Hackett combination dates back to when the two were in Green Bay, so it's likely Rodgers hasn't forgotten Payton's words about Hackett. Nix will take on Jets after posting their best game of the season on offense.
The Broncos reached season-highs in total yards (352) and rushing (216) against the Buccaneers. Nix executed the game plan to near perfection, passing for 216 yards while completing nearly 70% of his passes with no turnovers.
"There's a certain comfort level with the plays he likes," Payton told reporters.
Nix has displayed growth as a quarterback against the Buccaneers. He threw a combined four interceptions in his first two games and struggled to completed long passes. Against Tampa Bay, he didn't throw an interception and he completed multiple passes of at least 15 yards or more.
"Moving forward, we have to find ways to score touchdowns in the red zone, but I thought we did a good job of kind of controlling the game, running the ball how we had to and converting on third downs," Nix told reporters. "That's just going to continue to build my confidence and then the offense's confidence. We just have to keep stacking those kinds of games."