DENVER — As the Broncos began their week of preparation for a Week 11 matchup with the Falcons, Head Coach Sean Payton showed his team a series of clips from the toughest losses of his career.

And at the end, he had a message for his team.

“I said to them, ‘I don’t have enough time here to show you all the good clips,'” Payton said Wednesday. “Just like in life, we’re going to have some [tough moments] and then we get up and we start fighting again.”

The Broncos have taken that message to heart as they look to respond to an emotional Week 11 loss to the Chiefs.

“I think we’ve been through a lot of highs and a lot of lows this year already, and I think that we’re very close to turning a corner and getting over the hump,” quarterback Bo Nix said Wednesday. “I think we have a young team, and we’ve done a lot of growing this year. We have some younger guys that are playing a lot of ball, so that only helps. I definitely think it’s ahead of us. I think we’ve played some good ball so far, but I think the consistency piece is going to continue to grow for us. I think it’s right around the corner.”

The next test for a Broncos team that continues to show signs of progress comes against the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons.

With a win, the Broncos will improve to 6-5 and earn a sweep over an opposing division for the first time since 2015. According to Next Gen Stats, the Broncos’ playoff odds would also increase to 62 percent with a victory.

These are the questions that will decide if Denver can get back in the win column and take the next step toward a postseason berth:

CAN BO NIX TAKE ADVANTAGE?

Nix, simply put, continues to make strides.

Nix entered Week 11 leading all rookies with 10 touchdown passes, and he has already posted the second-most games by a rookie with a 70-plus completion percentage, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Only Dak Prescott (4) has more such games than Nix’s three. Nix can also join Peyton Manning as just the second rookie in NFL history with 200 passing yards and two touchdowns in four consecutive home games. He also has the fifth-best touchdown-to-interception ratio (10-2) in the NFL since Week 5.

The Week 10 Rookie of the Week is playing some of his strongest football of the season, and he could find more success against Atlanta. The Falcons ruled out seven defenders for this week’s matchup, including a pair of starting cornerbacks. Cornerback Mike Hughes, slot cornerback Dee Alford, inside linebacker Troy Andersen and outside linebacker James Smith-Williams are all starters who were ruled out, and reserve nickel Antonio Hamilton Sr. is among the other players on the two-deep who will not play.

In addition to the slew of injuries, the Falcons have also struggled to rush the passer this season. Atlanta has the lowest pressure rate (27.4), the lowest sack rate (2.4 percent) and the fewest sacks (9) of any team in the NFL. Nix, meanwhile, has thrown seven touchdowns and three interceptions with a 94.0 passer rating when not pressured this season.

Nix has thrown just two interceptions since Week 3, but he also has retained an ability to push the ball down the field and earn chunk plays.

“Remember when we used that analogy of watching a boring round from a good golfer?” Payton said Friday. “You just felt that way [watching him] in college. You didn’t feel in harm’s way. That’s a good trait to have, and the opposite is tough.”