Bo Nix Enters the MVP Conversation & the Implications Are Massive

The Denver Broncos stand at 12-2 with a second-year quarterback now firmly in the MVP sweepstakes. This is only the tip of the Mile High iceberg.

Dec 14, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) throws downfield during the second quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos have officially captured the NFL's attention. Despite Denver's 10-game winning streak entering Week 15, much of the NFL wasn't convinced in this team's bona fides, let alone that of its quarterback.

On the heels of upsetting the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, the NFL world at large seems to be coming around to the Broncos' legitimacy as a Super Bowl contender. After all, the 12-2 Broncos have the best record in the league, and they currently possess the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC after winning their 11th straight game.

Even Nix's shine is much brighter since Sunday. He now has the fourth-best MVP odds, per DraftKings Sportsbook, behind Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye, and Josh Allen. Let's examine the odds below, courtesy of DraftKings.

• Matthew Stafford: -300
• Drake Maye: +425
• Josh Allen: +550
• Bo Nix: +7500
• Jordan Love: +7500
• Dak Prescott: +7500
• Caleb Williams: +10000
• Sam Darnold: +10000
• Justin Herbert: +10000

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Top-10 Stats

Oct 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) looks for receiver against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

On the heels of Nix's dynamic performance vs. the Packers, which included 302 passing yards and four touchdowns, the NFL is suddenly buying into the second-year quarterback. For the season, Nix has 3,256 passing yards (ninth-most) and 23 touchdowns (fifth-most), so it's not as if he's been bringing up the rear statistically all year.

The NFL's newfound interest in the Broncos is curious. After all, Green Bay wasn't the only good team the Broncos have defeated this season.

The Broncos vanquished both Super Bowl teams from this past February, dispatching the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in Week 5, and the Kansas City Chiefs in Denver in Week 11. The Broncos also blew out the NFL's top offense (at the time), beating the Dallas Cowboys 44-24 in Week 8, and Denver defeated the league's top defense (at the time), handing the Houston Texans a loss at NRG Stadium in Week 9.

It was a shock that Denver was viewed as the underdog against the Packers, especially considering how the Broncos hadn't lost at home since Week 6 of the 2024 season. Nix's takeaway? The Broncos are the "overdogs." Indeed, it would seem they are.

Overdogs. 🐶😤 pic.twitter.com/EsDMRTrP3F

— Mile High Huddle (@MileHighHuddle) December 17, 2025

The Bitter Truth

The real reason that the NFL is suddenly coming around to the Broncos' stubborn unwillingness to lose is that they beat an opponent perceived as 'legit,' with their quarterback turning in a marquee performance to boot. The NFL will grudgingly give respect to a winning program that sustains itself over time, even if it isn't always pretty.

However, if that team's quarterback is leading the way with 'Star Wars' type numbers, the league will line up to fawn over them. That's the level of impact Nix had against a quality opponent whose quarterback has long been rubberstamped as one of the anointed NFL darlings.

Nix's second year has been up-and-down. True, that. But his resilience has been something truly special that no other quarterback this year has come close to matching.

Since Week 11, Nix has improved by leaps and bounds, but let's not pretend as if he was lousy in the 10 games prior. Even in the games when he was inconsistent, like Week 10's ugly win over the Las Vegas Raiders, he always found a way to make at least one more play than the opposing quarterback, showing up in the critical moments time and time again.

Three-Phase Nightmare for Opponents

What makes the Broncos so scary now is that they play complementary football in all three phases, they show up in the clutch, and their quarterback is playing at an elite level. That's a winning combination that no team wants to face.

"For us, we continue to prove over and over [that] our defense is going to play stout when we need them. They are going to get stop after stop," Nix said on Sunday night. "As an offense, we continue... to score points when it’s most important to score points. Our special teams just keep playing solid and hold us all together. I think as a team, we are playing as good as I think we can play right now. That is really important to do... at the end of the year.”

The 10-4 Jacksonville Jaguars are next up on the schedule. But this AFC showdown will be played at Empower Field at Mile High, so bet against the Broncos at your own peril.

The Implications

Nix has the Broncos in the driver's seat for home-field advantage, and he's busted his way into the MVP conversation. That he's been able to do that as just a second-year player is amazing, and the same can be said for Maye and the New England Patriots.

What it all means for the Broncos? We've entered a new era in the Mile High City. There as the John Elway era, the Peyton Manning era, and the post-Super Bowl 50 era that pre-dated the arrival of Sean Payton as head coach.

Now we're in the Bo Nix era. And he's just getting started.

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