DENVER — In the aftermath of rookie quarterback Bo Nix’s finest statistical performance of his young career, P.J. Locke looked ahead to the following week.
“I hope he gets Rookie of the Week again,” Locke said.
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton, who caught seven of Nix’s passes for 78 yards in a 38-6 win over the Falcons, did one better.
“The dude should be in conversations for Rookie of the Year,” Sutton said. “There should be no hesitation.”
And cornerback Pat Surtain II? Well, he hyped up the team’s signal-caller even more after a four-touchdown, 300-yard performance.
“He’s him,” Surtain said. “I told him, ‘Man, you’re trying to win MVP. It’s not even looking like Offensive Rookie of the Year. It’s looking like MVP right now.’ It’s a testament to him. He puts the work in each and every week, and it shows with his preparation. He stays after hours to watch film [to] perfect his game. This is what you see from him. When you have games like this, it’s not a surprise, because he puts the work in fundamentally each and every week.”
While Nix may still have work to do to put himself in the Most Valuable Player conversation, he did set a slew of marks in a highly impressive performance against the Falcons.
Nix became the first rookie in NFL history to complete at least 80 percent of his passes while throwing for four touchdowns and 300 yards in a game, and he became just the third quarterback in franchise history — of any experience level — to hit those marks.
“[In] our league, you’re learning each week and then pretty soon, you’re like, ‘I belong here,'” Head Coach Sean Payton said. “It’s clear he belongs here.”
As Nix set career highs in passing yards, completion percentage, passing touchdowns and passer rating, he also hit on a number of chunk plays. Nix completed four passes of at least 23 yards, including a 33-yard strike down the middle of the field to set up an end-of-half touchdown that gave Denver a 21-6 lead.