Vance Joseph Explains Broncos Defense's Unwavering Faith In Bo Nix

Bo Nix has earned the trust of the Denver Broncos' locker room. Vance Joseph pulls back the curtain.

Nov 6, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) drops back to pass against the Las Vegas Raiders during the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Bo Nix still has his doubters, but it's difficult to argue with a 9-2 record. That's where the Broncos stand as they hit their bye week.

Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph also deserves credit for the Broncos' entering Week 12 as the divisional leaders (by a wide margin) and the No. 1 playoff seed. Joseph is expected to be a hot commodity when the head-coaching cycle arrives in January, but he's still got a long row left to hoe in Denver, with six crucial regular-season games to go, and the playoffs.

There's evidence that the NFL is beginning to come around on Nix, but in a sit-down with ESPN's Peter Schrager, Joseph shared his view of how Nix is perceived inside the building and locker room at Broncos HQ.

"This is my 19th season coaching in the league, man. And you rarely have teams that are so close-knit—that's all three areas: that's [special] teams, defense, and offense. This team, my guys, love Bo Nix," Joseph said on The Schrager Hour. "So he can't do any wrong. We trust Bo Nix."

No Complaints, No Panic

Nix has been responsible for some Herculean comebacks — both last year and this season. His eight fourth-quarter comeback victories are the most by any NFL quarterback in his first two seasons.

It hasn't always been pretty. There have been several games this season in which Nix and the Broncos' offense have struggled to put things together until the fourth quarter.

Fortunately, Joseph's defense is so stingy and predatory that the Broncos have been able to live with these slow offensive starts. 11 weeks into the 2025 season, it hasn't been perfect, but it's a model that works for the Broncos, in part, because of the defense's unwavering belief that eventually, Nix will turn it on when it matters most.

"The team environment, the locker room, on the sideline, no one ever panics. No one complains... It's about just winning that football game. And we know on defense, if we just keep playing, he's going to make a play," Joseph said of Nix. "We watch it every day in practice. I mean, this kid is special, special—as a person, as a player. His talent is off the charts, so we trust that he's going to make a play."

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Blessings of a Franchise QB

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

Joseph labored for two years as Broncos head coach (2017-18) without a franchise quarterback, so it's surely a breath of fresh air and no small comfort to know that Nix has what it takes to beat any opponent. The Broncos have defeated both Super Bowl teams from last season, including the World Champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs last week.

Both wins required a fourth-quarter comeback, and Nix delivered. The energy surrounding this team is palpable, and listening to Joseph's conversation with Schrager, it's clear that it starts with the culture.

The Vision

Joseph emphasized how head coach Sean Payton's vision, not just for his offense or game-planning, but in how each player fits and the content of their character, has played a pivotal role in the Broncos bridging the gap with the Chiefs in the AFC West in just three years. It's not only a matter of whether a player has talent or fits the scheme; a lot of guys in the NFL are talented.

But what does a player bring to the table as a person or a teammate? These are massive considerations when Payton and Broncos GM George Paton are drafting and signing players.

"It's a close-knit team, and you rarely, rarely in this league have a bunch of guys who play for each other, and it goes back to George Paton and Coach Payton's vision for this team. It was all about getting the right kind of guys," Joseph said to Schrager. "It wasn't always talent-first. Sean is big on vision. Is he a good fit for our locker room? Even the guys we added, with [Talanoa] Hufanga and Dre [Greenlaw], it's perfect people. It's hard-working, team-first, great people. So we turned this team strictly on acquiring the right people. Talent aside, it's the right guys, so it's a great locker room."

Hufanga has been an immense get for the Broncos, and easily the team's most impactful free-agent signing of 2025. Running back J.K. Dobbins was up there with Hufanga before he suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 10, but the Broncos' new safety has allowed Joseph the tools to continue stirring the defensive drink, even without Patrick Surtain II for the past three games.

A Paternal Pride

Nov 6, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) and linebacker Jonathon Cooper (0) react during the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Listening to Joseph talk about his players, and not just the men on his side of the ball, it's like a father preening with pride about his sons. From Nix to Nik Bonitto to Surtain to Jonathon Cooper and beyond, it's clear that Joseph is proud of his guys.

Joseph has been there from the beginning with many of them, including defensive end Zach Allen, who was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in his first year as defensive coordinator, following his dismissal as Broncos head coach. Surtain was clearly an out-of-the-box star, but when Joseph returned in 2023, Bonitto and Cooper were depth linebackers.

On Joseph's watch, the Broncos saw quantum-leap-forward development from non-first-round players, like Bonitto, Cooper, Riley Moss, Ja'Quan McMillian, and Justin Strnad. Joseph has been instrumental in this defense becoming the beast that it is, and if (probably when) he leaves for a head-coaching job elsewhere, the team will have to strive to keep that close-knit bond together in the locker room.

With Payton steering the ship, the odds are in Denver's favor. But that's not to discount Joseph's impact on this team since his (at the time) controversial return to the Mile High City just a few years after being fired.

"It's a close-knit team, man. So no one ever complains. We just play, and the results are the results, and it's fallen our way. But it's not an accident. It's [on] purpose," Joseph told Schrager. "We talk about how to finish games. Sean is big on vision. Everything we do in the program, from players, to every game plan, is 'what's the vision for this game?' It's 'what's the vision for this player?' So it makes it easy, and it allows the coaches and George to kind of always look for the right fit. And right now, man, it's the right fit."

You could say that again, Coach. And one of the most obvious fits the Broncos got right was Nix, who has been ideal for Payton's vision for rebuilding this team and vanquishing the Chiefs in the AFC West.

Through 11 games, Nix has 2,421 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, with eight interceptions. He's also rushed for 213 yards and three additional scores.

The Takeaway

Denver has something special brewing with Nix, this defense, and the team culture. It'd be a shame to lose Joseph, but his stamp on the locker room may be lasting, and something a future successor can pick right up on.

The Broncos will have to capitalize on this bye to figure out how to get their run game going without Dobbins, as RJ Harvey's first bite at the RB1 apple left much to be desired. If the Broncos can figure that out, it's hard to see them losing the momentum that this eight-game losing streak has created.

That's a wave the Broncos could ride all the way to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.