INGLEWOOD, Calif. — J.K. Dobbins has spent six long years in the NFL, a running back smart enough to make it to 26 in this league because of his vision between the tackles. Because of his balance. Because of his ability to see what’s coming, as an onslaught of bodies turns toward him.
He saw what was coming in the locker room Sunday, too, as an onslaught of narratives turned toward him.
After Bo misses a couple of throws today — nope. Dobbins shook his head. Then he nipped a question about his quarterback in the bud before it even began.
“Nah, he ain’t miss no throws,” Dobbins replied. “He ain’t miss no throws. He played a great game.
“And we got his back, I got his back,” the running back continued. “He’s a great quarterback. It’s a team game. We lost as a team. It’s not on him. Guys gotta — I gotta make more plays for him.”
Bo Nix is wired to win, sure. He’s also wired to not lose. His motivation pulls from the self-expressed fear of not being enough for his locker room. That concept, Nix professed in July, is what will keep him from enduring an off year in Year 2.
After Sunday’s 23-20 loss to the Chargers, though, Nix sits well below last year’s second-half takeoff in yards per attempt (5.6), QB rating (83.4) and completion percentage (64.2%). And Dobbins might disagree — but the Broncos quarterback left a few massive plays on the field Sunday.
There was Nix’s misfire on a second-quarter third-and-16, when Payton conjured up some magic from the dregs of his play-caller’s cauldron and Nix had a wide-open Marvin Mims Jr. streaking to the end zone … only to bomb it just long.
There was Nix’s misfire on a third-quarter end-zone throw to Mims, when he had him streaking toward the end zone from 28 yards out … only to get whacked and fire it just past his fingertips.
And there was Nix’s misfire on a damning fourth-quarter go-ball to Courtland Sutton, when the quarterback had his go-to man streaking free on a third-and-10 … only to chuck it just past his fingertips.
Through it all, even as Nix has been a mixed bag to start his sophomore year, a locker room well aware of their 25-year-old QB’s psyche has formed a verbal shield around their leader.
“I always tell Bo, it’s never always on him,” Sutton said in the locker room Sunday. “It’s a full team effort. None of us go out there and play a perfect game.
“And, I don’t want him to ever feel the pressure of needing to be perfect for us to go out there and be successful. We all have our hand in the pot.”
Nix finished 14-of-25 passing for 153 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions — a stat-line that’d ordinarily seem fine but belied the underlying truth of several massive missed opportunities. Head coach Sean Payton, though, emphasized there was “no conversation” necessary with Nix after overthrowing a few such opportunities, the same HC that scoffed at any need for a Nix “growth meter” early in 2025.
“Keep slinging,” Payton said. “The last thing we want is to — I mean, man, those are almost spot-on.”
Inches, really. But the almosts have defined this early 2025 season for the Broncos and their quarterback’s.
Nix’s locker room, though, has no wavering faith in their young leader, as right tackle Mike McGlinchey emphasized.
“He’s a phenomenal leader and player for our football team,” McGlinchey said. “I think anybody who starts saying another narrative is crazy. We all have to help him be better — from the plan, from execution, from everything.
“To say that because he missed a couple throws, he lost that game — I don’t buy that at all.”
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