{"id":925,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/925","headline":"Payton rules out benching Bo Nix despite Broncos' offensive struggles","dek":"The Denver coach says Nix's rough patch will fix itself once the rest of the offense improves.","body":"Sean Payton says there is no quarterback controversy in Denver, no matter how it looks on tape. Asked directly whether the Broncos would consider another option at quarterback, Payton said simply, \"no.\"\n\nThe Broncos are 4-2, but their offense has ranked among the league's worst in several categories as third-year starter Bo Nix struggles to find rhythm. Payton argued the problems are bigger than one player, pointing to the offensive line and an inconsistent running game as the real culprits. He said he expects Nix's play to improve naturally as those \"finer things\" around him get fixed, calling that improvement part of the coaching staff's job.\n\nPayton also praised Nix's ability to \"climb through adversity,\" saying that quality was part of why the team believes in him long term. The vote of confidence comes after the Broncos' overtime win over the Seahawks on Thursday night, a game in which Nix's performance drew sharp outside criticism, including from Prime Video's Ryan Fitzpatrick, who called it \"garbage.\"\n\nFor now, Payton is betting that patience and better surrounding play, not a change under center, will turn things around for Denver's offense.","published_at":"2026-10-20T00:05:54.422100+00:00","source_count":4,"written_from":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Sean Payton says Broncos have no plans to make quarterback change amid Bo Nix's rough start","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/sean-payton-says-broncos-have-no-plans-to-make-quarterback-change-amid-bo-nixs-rough-start-190440493.html"},{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"Sean Payton sticking with Bo Nix. Will improving ‘finer things’ jolt Broncos QB?","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7705348/2026/10/19/sean-payton-bo-nix-broncos-starting-qb/"},{"outlet":"ESPN","publisher":"ESPN","title":"Broncos not considering benching Nix amid offense's struggles, Payton says","url":"https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/50219761/broncos-not-considering-benching-qb-bo-nix-sean-payton-says"},{"outlet":"Pro Football Talk","publisher":"NBC Sports","title":"Sean Payton says he hasn't considered benching Bo Nix","url":"https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/sean-payton-says-he-hasnt-considered-benching-bo-nix"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Broncos sticking with QB Bo Nix (plus clarification on terminology changes)","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/broncos-sticking-qb-bo-nix-213440733.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Sean Payton comments on if Broncos have considered benching Bo Nix","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/sean-payton-comments-broncos-considered-164935266.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Coach Sean Payton stands by Bo Nix amid a season-long funk: 'No' QB change for Broncos","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/coach-sean-payton-stands-bo-172200313.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Broncos’ Sean Payton isn’t going to bench Bo Nix, and this decision comes with a guarantee","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/broncos-sean-payton-isn-t-173358661.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Sean Payton says he hasn't considered benching Bo Nix","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/sean-payton-says-hasnt-considered-172859322.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Sean Payton denied that he's considering benching Bo Nix as Broncos quarterback","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/sean-payton-denied-hes-considering-183643382.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Broncos' Sean Payton sends clear message about benching Bo Nix","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/broncos-sean-payton-sends-clear-224646231.html"}],"image":{"url":"https://nbcsports.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9e9d0fd/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1920x1080!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhdliveextra-a.akamaihd.net%2FHD%2Fimage_sports%2FNBCU_Sports_Group_-_nbcsports%2F672%2F819%2Fnbc_pft_nixandfitz_261016.jpg","credit":"Pro Football Talk","width":1920},"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}