Broncos QB Bo Nix Played Through Brutal Injury Suffered in Vegas

The Denver Broncos are back in the Mile High City after Sunday's playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. As the players clear out their lockers, some are made available to local media.

One of those players was quarterback Bo Nix, who's technically no longer a rookie. His rookie campaign is over, and he's now a second-year player.

Nix accomplished a lot in Year 1, and we learned on Monday that he did so with an injury that he suffered in Week 12 in the Broncos' victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. Those clips of Nix grabbing at his lower back and getting heat or ice applied to it while sitting on the bench? It turns out, he played through a transverse process fracture in his back.

"God was good to me this year, allowed me to stay upright. I was healthy, got to play each and every game," Nix said via 9NEWS' Mike Klis. "Obviously, we all play with some bruises and some cuts and scrapes, but the biggest week was just—I had a little transverse process fracture in my back. That week, [I] got treatment and kind of made it through that week. Monday Night Football was a stretch where we were all kind of banged up and I wasn't going to miss the first Monday Night game (smiles), so I got treatment on it, and then we were fortunate to have an off week that next week. And then it kind of went away after that. But for that moment, it was annoying."

Nix confirmed that it happened in the Raiders game in Vegas.

"Yeah, I got twisted up a little bit, had three process fractures, but a lot of guys play with those kind of things," Nix said.

Bo Nix said he played with three transverse process fractures in back during game at Raiders Nov 24. Didn’t miss a snap. #9sports pic.twitter.com/V4vL6KN79K
— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) January 13, 2025

While it's unclear exactly when Nix was injured in that Week 12 game, there are multiple clips of him clutching at his back and wincing in pain, only to, again, be seen on the sideline receiving attention from the Broncos' medical staff.

#broncos QB Bo Nix was listed as limited in the estimated injury report today because of a back injury. Against the #raiders you could see times where he was in pain. The medical staff wrapped it on the sideline after his touchdown throw to Courtland Sutton pic.twitter.com/UsvBk7lno8
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) November 28, 2024

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Nix hung tough, though, and the Broncos emerged victorious in Vegas and the next week in a barn-burning affair vs. the Cleveland Browns in Denver. Then that blessed Week 14 bye came and he was able to rest the injury away.

Any back injury is scary. A transverse process fracture sounds brutal, but Nix's injury healed rather quickly. The perks of being 24.

Here's what defines a transverse process fracture:

This fracture is a break or crack in one of the wing-like sides at the back of a vertebra. Muscles and ligaments are attached to this part of the vertebra. The fracture can be caused by trauma or by a severe muscle contraction.

Nix is a young warrior. This revelation proves that much, as he not only stood tall through the pain and discomfort of the injury, but he willed the Broncos to victory in each game he played injured.

Nix would go on to win 10 games as a rookie, and lead the Broncos back to the playoffs for the first time since Super Bowl 50, snapping an eight-year postseason drought. He finished with the second-most passing touchdowns by a rookie in NFL history (29), along with 3,775 yards and an additional five scores via the ground and air.

Nix was named Offensive Rookie of the Month of October, and came close to vanquishing No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels in the Rookie of the Year sweepstakes. Nix was voted a Pro Bowl alternate.

But Nix is the type player who'd give up all those accolades and individual clout for even the chance to continue to compete for a Lombardi Trophy. That's how you know the Broncos drafted a real one at No. 12 overall last year.

"You play this game to reach the highest level, so I don’t want to be complacent," Nix said on Sunday in Buffalo, "and I don’t want to ever be just comfortable and satisfied and happy with something that looks good on the outside. You play this game to win, and everybody’s working for a Super Bowl. We owe that to ourselves because of the time that we put into it."

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