Ryan Fitzpatrick, an analyst on "NFL on Prime," criticized Broncos quarterback Bo Nix after Thursday night's game against Seattle. "He's not playing competitive football right now," Fitzpatrick said, per CBS Sports' Zachary Pereles. He also called it "almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he's playing football right now," a line Yahoo Sports' Sean Leahy used as his headline. Deadspin framed it as Fitzpatrick questioning Nix's effort and his ability to compete. That wording comes from Deadspin's summary, not from a quote in the pieces we have. We don't have the full broadcast remarks, so the context around the criticism isn't available.
Denver won the game 17-14 in overtime, and the box score shows why the performance drew attention. Nix completed 17 of 27 passes for 107 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions, a 71.1 rating. He was sacked twice for 13 yards and carried four times for 2 yards. The Broncos finished with 168 total yards at 2.9 per play, converted 3 of 14 third downs and had 13 first downs. Seattle had 353 yards and 24 first downs, and ran 82 plays to Denver's 57. Seattle also turned the ball over three times, including two interceptions, and Denver had none. Wil Lutz's 53-yard field goal won it.
The game fits a pattern in Nix's numbers. Through his first five games this season he had 942 passing yards, 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, with a 59.9 completion percentage, 5.8 yards per attempt and an 80.8 rating. His game log shows the Seattle game was his lowest-yardage start of the season. The 107 yards compares with 288 against Jacksonville in Week 2 and 123 in the previous game, at the Chargers, where he threw for one touchdown and lost a fumble. He has thrown for more than 214 yards only once in six games. His 2025 season ended with 3,931 yards, 25 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and an 87.8 rating, so this year's rating is lower than that.
The record is better than the passing. Denver is 4-2, second in the AFC West, and has won two straight, 23-17 at the Chargers on Oct. 11 and now the Seattle game. Its other recent game was a 24-14 loss at San Francisco on Oct. 4. The Broncos have won the last two while scoring 17 and 23 points, so the defense and special teams have carried a lot of the load. Fitzpatrick's criticism is about how Nix is playing, not about the team's results.
Denver now has a short week to move on. Its next game is at Arizona on Sunday, Oct. 25. None of the outlets we have reported a response from Nix or the Broncos, so we don't know whether either side has addressed Fitzpatrick's comments.
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