Broncos HC Sean Payton Defends Bo Nix After INT vs. Colts

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was quick to defend quarterback Bo Nix for the fourth-quarter interception that Nix tossed in Sunday's 29-28 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

“It gets tipped. I mean, I think it gets tipped," Payton told reporters after the game. "That's another one where you're kind of in a position, maybe to get in better field goal range. A lot of times when you make a call, what needs to follow is understand we're in field goal range, but I think it gets hit.”

The turnover was especially backbreaking as the Broncos — up by five — drove down to Indianapolis' 28-yard line with roughly 11:30 remaining. On 3rd-and-3, rather than run the ball, Nix dropped back to pass and, intending for receiver Courtland Sutton, threw it to Colts defensive back Cam Bynum.

The Colts would convert the pick into a field goal on its ensuing drive — a six-point swing in a one-point Denver heartbreaker.

CAM BYNUM INT AND THEN HE REALLY DID 'THE THING' WITH @blue pic.twitter.com/jUEISdSFeJ
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 14, 2025

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For his part, Nix twice insisted he "just missed" on the attempt to Sutton; he wouldn't corroborate Payton's claim nor put his coaching staff under the proverbial bus. Instead, he rued an effort in which the team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, exacerbated by a controversial penalty on the game's final play.

But it wasn't only bad for the second-year signal-caller. In fact, it was largely quite good. Nix finished 22-of-30 for 206 yards, three touchdowns, and the INT — a 111.2 rating. He's now recorded 11 career games with multiple passing scores, tied for sixth-most among all NFL QBs. He also has six starts with three-plus passing TDs, tied for fifth-most in the league since last season.

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) scrambles with the bal Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, during a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After some brief rumination, Nix and company will bury the Week 2 film and look forward to their upcoming road meeting with the rival Los Angeles Chargers, who currently hold first place in the AFC West.

As they know too well, the cure for any ail in this business is ... winning.

"You could take away – you could talk about my interception, you could talk about the field goal, you could talk about a missed opportunity on one of the drives we went three-and-out and couldn’t get points," Nix said Sunday. "It’s a whole game that comes down to a few key moments, and unfortunately, we had some negative key moments tonight. But we gave ourselves every chance to win the game, and then at the end we just shot ourselves in the foot. And good teams bounce back from that. Great teams don't do that. They don't beat themselves. So we're growing and developing, we're still holding as a team. We got a long season ahead of us and can't let this loss turn into two.”