Sean Payton Torches the Latest Bo Nix Critic With Blunt Message on X

Sean Payton must have had a few extra minutes at his disposal on Thursday.

The Denver Broncos' head coach dropped a thermonuclear comment under a First Things First X post on Thursday that featured former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz predicting that Bo Nix will take a step backward in 2026.

Schwartz was asked whether he expected Nix to take a step forward or backward in the quarterback's third year, and while the former Oregon lineman vacillated slightly for a moment, he chose the "step back" option, and it was his justification for the response that seemed to trigger Payton's comment.

"Always easy to tell who works at it and who doesn't," Payton commented under the post.

Always easy to tell who works at it and who doesn't.
— Sean Payton (@SeanPayton) August 27, 2026

Translation: It's obvious you don't know what you're talking about, Schwartz, so I can only deduce that you haven't studied the very issue that you're being asked to expound upon with your "expertise." I could be taking a leap here in my interpretation of Payton's comment, though; he could be saying that it's easy to tell that Nix works hard at his craft, so to speak, but I seriously doubt it.

The First Things First post, an FS1 production, actually received a "Community Note" on X, a user-driven feature that helps to identify fake news and untruthful opinions espoused by publications, pundits, and journalists on the social media platform. More on the untruthfulness of Schwartz's assertions shortly. First, here's a snippet of what Schwartz actually said about Nix, whom the analyst claims hasn't shown any growth since his time at Oregon.

“I do think he just is what he is at this point. He looks like the same quarterback he was in college. I watched every one of his snaps at Oregon. He looks exactly the same guy in Denver," Schwartz said of Nix.

"He’s consistent. He’s not gonna make mistakes. But he’s not gonna push the ball down the field all that often. We know his air yards was short. His advanced stats kind of put him right in the middle of the NFL. He gets a bump up because he can run the ball in certain situations for them."

Schwartz was inclined to credit Payton for taking Nix under his wing and making lemonade with the lemons given to him. It's quite comical because it didn't save Schwartz from Payton dropping the hammer.

"I give Sean Payton credit," Schwartz said. "They've built the offense around what he can do and what he can't do. They do a very good job of maximizing his talents... I think he's set in what he's going to be in the NFL."

The Truth

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) in the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Empower Field at Mile High. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On one hand, everyone's got an opinion. It's perfectly valid for Schwartz to opine that he sees a regression coming from Nix in Year 3. I disagree with that opinion, but he has every right to assert it. As a television analyst, though, it's his job to bolster that opinion with a compelling argument.

Where Schwartz lost the plot was his rationale for why he believes Nix will take a step back, espousing exactly the type of unfounded, incorrect tropes that drive Broncos Country mad. The most obvious one being that Nix doesn't push the ball downfield.

According to Next Gen Stats, since entering the league in 2024, Nix has totaled more deep touchdown passes of 20-plus air yards than any other NFL quarterback, with 19. That statistic counts regular season and postseason.

Since the start of the 2024 season (including the postseason), no quarterback has thrown more deep touchdown passes of 20+ air yards than Bo Nix (19).#BUFvsDEN | #BroncosCountry https://t.co/niuHEqcZDI
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 18, 2026

There are more examples of the erroneous "Nix doesn't throw deep" tropes. For a quarterback who supposedly doesn't challenge defenses vertically, it's kind of ironic that Next Gen Stats ranked Nix the fourth-highest in attempts of 20-plus air yards in 2025, with eight such touchdown passes (also ranked fourth-most).

Nix also finished second in the NFL in third-and-long conversions, per NFL Researcher on X. Third-and-long is defined as needing at least seven yards to either move the chains or break the pylon, and he had 27 such plays that he converted to first downs or touchdowns.

Nix's 27 conversions tied him with Jordan Love and Jared Goff for the second-most in the NFL. Drake Maye, for what it's worth, led all passers with 29 such conversions.

Better PR

The truth is, NFL media really struggles to give Nix the credit he deserves. As First Things First co-host Danny Parkins opined in the clip above, Nix has better numbers and more wins than Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye since they all entered the league together in 2024, and yet these talk shows spend a lot of time talking about everyone but Nix.

I would agree with Parkins's tongue-in-cheek comment that Nix needs "better PR." Nix has more wins (24, not counting playoffs), yards (7,706), and touchdown passes (54) than Williams, Daniels, or Maye.

The fact that Nix became the first NFL quarterback to ever win 20-plus games while passing for 7,500-plus yards and 50-plus touchdowns through his first two years should have the talking heads across the fruited plain gushing about him. But the praise for Nix has been shockingly sparse.

What's more is how all of Nix's statistical production has translated to the standings, and how it's changed the fate of the Broncos. With Nix under center as a rookie, the Broncos won 10 games and earned a Wildcard berth, snapping their heretofore eight-year playoff drought.

In Year 2, Nix led the Broncos to 14 wins, including an 11-game winning streak, dethroned the Kansas City Chiefs as the AFC West champs, secured the No. 1 playoff seed, and outdueled the then-reigning MVP Josh Allen in the divisional round of the playoffs.

In just his second year, Nix led the Broncos to the doorstep of the Super Bowl. We all know that the New England Patriots would have been defeated at Mile High if Nix hadn't suffered that fractured ankle on the third-to-last play of the team's epic divisional round victory over the Buffalo Bills the week prior.

The Takeaway

It's may be true that Nix needs better PR. And if Thursday's X comment was any indication, perhaps his head coach would agree.

Payton entered the fray to defend his young quarterback and put Schwartz in his place with a rare social media comment. It's great to see Payton stand behind his quarterback like that, even if it might be perceived in some circles as the head coach "punching down."

I love it, though. And I'm sure Nix and the players in the Broncos' locker room do, too. Don't ever change, Coach.

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