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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – OCTOBER 05: Pat Surtain II #2 of the Denver Broncos looks on prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on October 05, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Many around the Denver Broncos believe they would have reached the Super Bowl if Bo Nix had been healthy for their AFC Championship loss to the New England Patriots.

That belief was echoed during Super Bowl media week, when Broncos stars Pat Surtain II and Nik Bonitto were asked whether Denver would have won the AFC title game if Nix hadn’t been sidelined with a broken ankle. 

Speaking in an interview with Kay Adams, Surtain made his feelings clear.

“Yeah, yeah. No doubt,” Surtain said.

“When you got a guy like Bo that goes down, there’s a major effect for that.”

Would the #Broncos have won the AFC Championship if Bo Nix played?

Pat Surtain II: “Yeah, yeah. No doubt.”

(via @heykayadams)

It’s the same sentiment that has lingered around Broncos Country since Nix fractured his ankle in the Divisional Round. 

Surtain, Bonitto Heartbroken Over Loss

Bonitto acknowledged the impact of losing Nix, while still showing respect for Stidham’s impossible assignment.

“Obviously the stuff with Bo kind of hurt us,” Bonitto said. “But we were excited for the moment and it’s just one we felt kind of slipped us.”

Surtain added that the Super Bowl atmosphere only made the loss harder to process.

“It just feels weird in a way,” he said. 

“You see all these Super Bowl signs and you start to reflect and be like, man we could’ve been here.”

Still, both defenders emphasized optimism. 

The Broncos reached the AFC Championship Game in just the second year of the Bo Nix era and came painfully close despite losing their quarterback.

“We will run it back,” Surtain echoed. “This is going to put an even bigger chip on our shoulder.” 

Bo Nix’s Injury Changed Everything

The Broncos were riding an emotional high after their overtime win over the Buffalo Bills, a game in which Nix was electric. 

He led Denver in rushing, consistently extended plays, and delivered a late fourth-quarter touchdown to Marvin Mims Jr. that nearly sealed the win in regulation. 

Moments after Wil Lutz’s game-winner, that high quickly turned into devastation

Sean Payton revealed Nix had suffered a broken ankle and would require immediate surgery, ending his postseason.

Without him, Denver’s margin for error vanished.

Nix’s mobility likely would have been the difference, especially in a game where the defense clearly did enough to win. 

 But Surtain and Bonitto are turning the page and using the loss as fuel for next season. 

 “The fact we were that close, it’s going to motivate us even harder,” Bonitto said. 

Surtain expressed confidence in his quarterback’s recovery process, saying Nix is “going to bounce back even harder and get better from this.”

For the Broncos, the loss still stings, but the belief inside the locker room is that this was only the beginning.

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