How Broncos QB Bo Nix Is Preparing to Face Rams' Stafford

In yet another enticing Sunday Night Football storyline, Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix will go head-to-head for the first time in his young career with Los Angeles Rams counterpart and potential future Hall-of-Famer, Matthew Stafford.

It — the 25-year-old signal-caller versus the 38-year-old veteran — is perhaps the storyline that Nix is most anticipating ahead of the primetime Week 3 clash.

“It’ll be a really fun game because of that," Nix told reporters on Wednesday. "I’ve always watched him, looked up to him and admired the way he plays the game. He’s just extremely smart. He has a really strong arm, he’s just always been fun to watch. As our quarterback room, since I’ve been here for the last couple years, we’ve enjoyed watching their offense and watching him play.

"So it’ll be fun to go against him. It’ll be fun to meet him for the first time, I haven’t ever met him. But at this point in the league, you feel like you play a great quarterback every Sunday. So for me, he’s another guy that I can cross off the list that I could say I watched in person, and I think it’ll be a fun battle between our two teams.”

Now in his 18th NFL season, Stafford continues to perform at a high level for who many believe is a Super Bowl favorite in the Rams. In Week 2, the former Super Bowl champion threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns as Los Angeles, despite missing No. 1 receiver Puka Nucua, easily dispatched the star-crossed New York Giants.

“It’s another challenge, we understand that," Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II admitted Wednesday. "Obviously, he’s a vet, he’s been doing it for a long time.

"He understands schematically, offensively reading coverages, putting the ball in the right areas. He has all the intangibles that you look for in a quarterback, so it’s going to be a great challenge, but we’re going to be ready come Sunday.”

For Nix's part, the third-year passer overcame a rough end-zone interception in Week 2, completing 22-of-31 attempts for 288 yards, a touchdown, and the pick as Denver rallied to beat the Jaguars. He recorded his fifth-career victory when trailing by double digits, tying for second-most in the NFL since 2024.

"We had two really good drives that we just didn’t score points on," Nix said. "I think that in the second half, that translated to touchdowns and we got a good lead. So we just have to focus on those things to get the ball in the end zone. Then I think that is really what we could look like as a team.

"If we score points there, we’re in the 30s [points scored] and it’s a really good outing for us against a really good team. So we just have to find ways to finish the drive, score in the red zone, convert on a few more third downs so we can get to the red zone. It’s just complete football.”

Sep 14, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) runs the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs during the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nix Also Excited to Compete Against Donald

The Nix-Stafford face-off is intriguing, but not one that'll actually happen on a down-to-down basis. That's a much different situation in the case of Denver having to contend with unretired Rams defender Aaron Donald, who played his first NFL game in nearly three years during last week's drubbing of the Giants.

While delaying his inevitable induction into Canton, Donald finished his return game with three tackles, one tackle for loss, and one quarterback pressure across 32 snaps, largely knocking the rust off after such a long period of inactivity.

Nix knows that once the rust comes off, Donald could morph back into his prior eight-time All-Pro self, which is a terrifying thought for the Broncos' offense — but a thrilling one all the same to its leader.

“For a guy like that who’s played so much football at a dominant level, if anything, he could be better because he’s got some good rest," Nix said on Wednesday. "It’s exciting to play the greats, it always is. I know he’s a really good football player, and he’s going to provide a challenge that we haven’t necessarily faced before.

"He’s literally one of the best at his position of all time, so you don’t play those many Sundays. He’s going to be a good player, he’s going to play more and more as the season goes with rep count. I’m sure he’s just getting back in the swing of things, but a dominant player for a long time. So I honestly don’t expect anything different, we just have to limit the time he’s dominant.”

Sign up for our free Denver Broncos On SI newsletter and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Add us as a preferred source on Google