Sean Payton: Bo Nix’s Comebacks Were Better Than Caleb Williams’s

Besides being drafted in the first round in the 2024 NFL draft, Bo Nix and Caleb Williams have much in common. Both were the day-one starters for the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears, respectively, and both have helped lead their teams out of the NFL doldrums and into playoff relevance.

The commonalities run even deeper, though. Both Nix and Williams have eight four-quarter comeback victories since 2024, tied for the most among NFL quarterbacks. Which quarterback's late-game heroics were more impressive last season?

Broncos head coach Sean Payton said that Nix's comebacks "were better," though he said it with a smile and made sure all the reporters around him at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix, Arizona, knew that he was "being funny." ESPN's Courtney Cronin opined that Nix and Williams's fourth-quarter production last season was similar, at which point the veteran coach interjected.

“Wasn’t that similar, though," Payton said via The Denver Post's Luca Evans. "It was a little different. Bo’s was better.”

Payton's remark garnered a chuckle around the table, and while he tried to smooth things over by the "I was being funny" remark, an old saying comes to mind: "Many a truths are said in jest."

Nix has Payton as his quarterback shepherd. Williams has Ben Johnson, Chicago's head coach and offensive play-caller. That sets up both quarterbacks for longevity, even more so for Nix, as Payton is a much more proven head coach. 2025 was Johnson's first year as an NFL head coach.

Payton went on to break down how the success Nix and Williams had in leading their teams to comeback victories could translate to even more confidence in 2026. However, Payton also made it clear that each team starts over each season, regardless of how far they got the year prior, and there are no guarantees that either of these quarterbacks will be able to replicate that success.

“For both of those players, you guys have heard me say this: Confidence can only be born out of demonstrated ability. So I would ask everyone here, if I said to you, ‘Caleb and Bo, are they more confident this year?’ Absolutely," Payton said. "Now there’s nothing that says that’s promised the next year, and Ben [Johnson] knows this. You turn the board upside down. You place it and you collect your pieces, whatever the game is. You have to start back at zero."

The Board Game Metaphor

Sep 14, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) looks to pass the ball against the Detroit Lions during the third quarter of the game at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

This isn't the first time Payton has used board games as a metaphor for pro football. That everyone has to start over at square one in the next game, or the next season, as it were.

"But when you start back there, you have a little bit of a bank vault that is filled with these positive experiences. If you believe it can happen once, then… You’re a different player at the start of this season than you were at the start of the other season," Payton said.

Payton pointed to how few one-score games there are nowadays in college football. That makes it a bit harder for quarterbacks to develop the clutch gene, although it does present itself in situational football, like third down, fourth down, and red zone.

"The one-score games, I think it just provides you… In the college game, there are far fewer of those games," Payton said. "So it provides you with [knowing], ‘This is more the norm.’ We might be down six [points], up six, up three, tied at half. You get used to living in that world. I think that’s a big thing, especially for the quarterback.”

Nix's Demonstrated Ability

Oct 19, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) celebrates after play during the second half against the New York Giants at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

If things aren't going the Broncos' way in the third quarter, or they enter the fourth frame trailing by however many points, Nix isn't going to panic. He's been there before, and now that he's been part of so many triumphs despite being down late in games, it gives him the confidence to attack things.

That confidence gets transmitted to the other players through shared experience and osmosis. The Broncos players, to a man, have the utmost confidence in themselves and Nix to overcome such late-game adversity.

Now, that doesn't mean that they'll always succeed. But faith precedes the miracle, and that belief, that confidence, as Payton puts it, is borne from "demonstrated ability." Nix has that in spades.

Williams does, too. It will be interesting to see how these two young quarterbacks continue to develop in parallel — one in each conference.

Nix Indeed Has the Edge Over Williams

Payton's jest about Bo being better wasn't wrong. Nix has the edge, currently, among all of the quarterbacks from the 2024 draft class.

Nix has the fourth-quarter and one-score games thing, sure. But beyond that, he has the most passing yards, touchdowns, and wins among the 2024 quarterbacks, including Williams.

When the 2025 regular season ended, Nix tied Russell Wilson for the most wins by a quarterback through their first two years. Then Nix led the Broncos to a win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs, giving him 25 total, which stands alone as the most by a quarterback through two years in NFL history.

Nix is also the only quarterback in league history to ever notch 7,500-plus yards, 50-plus touchdowns, and 20-plus wins through their first two seasons. Nobody has ever been that prolific this fast.

Many quarterbacks over the years have started hot and posted the stats, but they didn't always translate to wins. Nix hit the ground running, posting the individual stats and leading his team to a total number of wins through two seasons that elude the vast majority of all quarterbacks.

This is why I'm inclined to agree with Payton. Nix has been demonstrably better, though he always seems to be the last quarterback to receive credit among his 2024 brethren, as reflected in how he's viewed on social media and in the national press.

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