Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is developing quite the reputation as a clutch-time closer. The Broncos are an astounding nine-game winning streak, many of which either required a fourth-quarter comeback, or went down to the wire.
The Broncos are 8-2 in one-score games this year, which is a significant reversal from their 1-6 mark in such contests in 2024. Nix’s collected comportment when the chips are down is a big reason why the Broncos have prevailed so stubbornly this season.
It happened again this past Sunday night in the Broncos’ 27-26 overtime victory over the Washington Commanders. The Broncos’ defense uncharacteristically gave up some drives and points to Marcus Mariota and company late in the fourth quarter, forcing the game into overtime.
When Washington deferred on the coin toss, opting to kick off in overtime, Nix marched the Broncos straight down the field for a touchdown-scoring drive that proved the difference in the game. Following Sunday Night Football, Nix explained where his ability to perform in the clutch comes from.
“I was told a long time ago by one of my many offensive coaches that pressure is a privilege, and not many people get to be in that opportunity,” Nix said. “So, if it’s going to be me who gets this opportunity, I am going to make the best of it.”
A Privilege Mindset
“Pressure is a privilege” — a mindset we all could strive to adopt, but an especially handy one for an NFL starting quarterback. To not only accept the pressure but to view it as a blessing of sorts can only rewire one’s brain to operate with a much more poised and collected demeanor.
It has served Nix well this season, but his record in one-score games last year shows that something in this realm has shifted for the young quarterback. And it could be that he’s managed to harness all the lessons he learned from the six one-score losses he suffered as a rookie.
“It doesn’t always go your way. Fortunately for us, it’s gone our way in these games,” Nix said. “Last year, we were on the opposite end of these close ones, so I understand what it’s like to be on the other side of things. But you just kind of keep moving on, and you’ve got to have a belief that you’re just going to find a way.”
Proof In the Pudding
Oct 19, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) celebrates after play during the second half against the New York Giants at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Nix’s most impressive showing in the clutch was in the Broncos’ historic comeback victory over the New York Giants in Week 7. He scored four touchdowns in the fourth quarter, becoming the first NFL quarterback to ever pass for two scores and rush for two in the same quarter.
Denver put 33 points on the board in the fourth quarter, and ultimately left Broncos Country as stunned as it was elated, streaming out from Empower Field at Mile High. While the fourth-quarter heroics have panned out lately, the Broncos did lose two such games in Weeks 2 and 3.
However, the team learned its lesson from those back-to-back setbacks, and parlayed them into what has been one of the most stunning winning streaks in modern Broncos history. That continued with the way Nix and company battled back in overtime at Northwest Stadium.
“It didn’t look great there for a minute, but we just found a way to make the next best play. At the end of the day, we scored one more point than they did, and that’s the difference in a game in this league,” Nix said. “Every game comes down to the last possession pretty much. You just have to kind of accept the fact and just put yourself in that moment. It doesn’t change anything, you just go out there and execute.”
The sheer confidence boost this winning streak has given the Broncos cannot be overstated. Each one of these games has created a playoff-like atmosphere as they coalesce in the clutch, and with the Broncos continually finding new and novel ways to win, it can only serve them well when the actual postseason rolls around.
“I think just playing in these close games is practice, and it helps,” Nix said. “And I feel like, I know we haven’t, but I feel like we’ve seen any game possible, all the outcomes, but I know there’s going to be many more.”
Broncos Bandwagon is Growing
Along the way, the Broncos have vanquished both of the Super Bowl teams from this past February. Now, not everyone in the national press has come around to the Broncos, still viewing them with skepticism because, apparently, they’re not blowing out all comers.
NBC Sports’ Tony Dungy is the latest to get on the Broncos bandwagon, though. In a roundabout way, the Hall-of-Fame head coach compared Nix to Patrick Mahomes.
“They’re the best in the AFC right now. Outstanding defense and they’re clutch on offense,” Dungy said during the Sunday Night Football television broadcast. “The defense feels like all they have to do is keep it close, and Bo Nix will win it for us. They used to say that about Mahomes in Kansas City.”Â
There’s no question that Nix has the clutch gene. And his heaping experience in the NFL has helped him figure out how to unlock it to the Broncos’ advantage.
This is a model the Broncos feel very confident in: play great defense, keep it close, and let Nix go out and win it in the fourth quarter.
Such tactics might not always pan out, because the other side gets paid too, and sometimes the ball bounces a different way, but it sure has worked for the Broncos thus far as they have a stranglehold on the AFC West and are in direct competition for the No. 1 playoff seed in the conference with five games left to go.
Un-Bo-lievable.
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