Bo Nix opened Sunday’s game by taking a shot at Courtland Sutton. Incomplete. Then the Broncos sent Troy Franklin deep, and Carolina got called for pass interference.

Two plays in, Denver had already shown the Panthers something this offense hasn’t shown often enough: there was going to be a threat behind the defense.

The execution wasn’t perfect. It didn’t need to be. What mattered was the willingness to push the ball downfield right away — before Denver needed a comeback and before the fourth quarter forced the offense to open things up.

Nix finished Denver’s 26-21 win over Carolina with 237 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. He’s put up bigger numbers this year. Jacksonville gave him 288 yards, and his passer rating against Kansas City last week was higher than it was Sunday.

But this wasn’t really about the stat line. It was about how much more comfortable the offense looked when Nix was willing to take chances. The intermediate throws. The third-down decisions. The way he helped put together back-to-back touchdown drives after Denver spent a good chunk of the afternoon letting Carolina hang around.

There was a lot to like.

Make the Corners Back Up

Sean Payton explained afterward that Denver basically called the same vertical concept on those first two plays, just with different personnel and formations. He said he’d only opened a game that way once before in his 20 years. The Broncos went into this one wanting to attack.

Good. They should’ve.

Carolina started Corey Thornton and Marco Wilson at corner after elevating both from the practice squad. Jaycee Horn was already on injured reserve, and the Panthers had just changed defensive coordinators after giving up 70 points over their last two games. There were some pretty obvious reasons to test that secondary.

Nix understood what those attempts could do even if they didn’t end in completions:

“Make them adjust, make them back up a little bit.”

That’s the point. A corner who has to respect the go route has a different job when the receiver breaks underneath him. Denver doesn’t need every deep shot to turn into a highlight. They just need defenses to believe those guys might actually get the ball.

The deep throws themselves still didn’t look all that convincing to me on the rewatch. I liked the intent more than the placement, and those are two different grades. Being willing to take the shot is progress. Consistently putting it where the receiver has the best chance to finish is the next step.

The intermediate game looked much better than it has this season. Nix was willing to let those throws go instead of treating every window like a reason to move on.

That was encouraging. Carolina’s personnel helped, absolutely. But you still have to take what’s there.

Third Down Finally Looked Different

The number I keep coming back to is 6-of-7.

That was Nix throwing on third down Sunday: six completions, 72 yards, and five first downs.

For a little context, the Broncos had converted just nine of their previous 48 third downs coming into this one.

Nine of 48. They’d won four straight games doing that, which is impressive in the same way driving home with the gas on "E" is impressive. You made it. You should probably deal with that before it becomes a bigger problem.

Sunday, Nix’s throws gave Denver a real chance to stay on the field more often. He did a better job of getting the ball past the sticks instead of handing somebody a completion and a problem.

The go-ahead touchdown drive had two good examples. On third-and-6, he found Sutton for 12. Later, another third-and-6 went to Franklin for exactly what Denver needed. Those conversions kept the possession alive for Jonah Coleman’s touchdown run.

Those are the plays that make an offense feel functional. You don’t need somebody to break three tackles just to move the chains.

The Interception Still Counts

The pick was the ugly part, and it mattered.

Denver was up 10-0 and threatening again when Nix tried to squeeze a throw to Sutton. Thornton sank underneath it in Cover 2 and picked it off. Carolina turned the possession into a touchdown.

That ended a stretch of 180 attempts without an interception.

I liked that Nix was willing to challenge windows Sunday. This one was just too tight. He got a little too cute with a throw that didn’t leave himself much room, and a game Denver had a chance to take control of suddenly became a real game again.

That’s part of figuring out where the aggression belongs. You want Nix trusting what he sees. You also want the decision to hold up when a defender does exactly what he’s supposed to do.

The response was encouraging, though, because the mistake didn’t take over the entire afternoon. Nix still had to make throws later, and he made them.

The pressure issue hasn’t gone away, either. There are still snaps where this offense doesn’t seem to have a comfortable answer when the other team breaks through the line. The ball can come out quickly against a clean look, but things get a lot less certain when the rush messes with the timing.

Two Drives, and Some Much-Needed Help

By late in the third quarter, Carolina led 14-13 and had first-and-goal from Denver’s 1-yard line. That’s how much the game had turned.

Then Devon Key caught a deflected pass in the end zone, and Denver almost didn’t get credit for it.

The play was initially ruled incomplete. Carolina even ran the next snap before officials announced that Payton had challenged the play. The league’s replay official even had to come out and confirm the flag was out in time.

That was a huge break for the offense. Key made the play, and Denver’s game-management staff made sure it counted.

Nix’s job was to do something with the opportunity.

He did.

The Broncos went 80 yards in 14 plays, finishing with Coleman’s 9-yard touchdown run. They missed the two-point attempt, but the lead was theirs again. After the defense forced a punt, Denver scored another touchdown, with Nix finding Pat Bryant for 26 yards on third-and-5. Just like that, it was 26-14.

That was the best stretch of Nix’s afternoon. Denver got a break, then the offense put together two drives that actually changed what Carolina had to do.

Bryant finished with 56 yards, the most on the team. Nobody even got to 60. Nine different Broncos caught a pass.

Then the offense went and made the ending a lot more stressful.

A botched pitch to Coleman lost 18 yards while Denver was trying to protect a five-point lead. Nix took responsibility for the delivery afterward. Carolina got another possession, and Nik Bonitto had to finish the job with a strip-sack and recovery.

Give Nix credit for the touchdown drives. But Bonitto gets the credit for making sure they were enough.

Bring This Approach Back After the Bye

Denver’s now 7-2, with five straight wins and an NFL-record 16 consecutive regular-season wins in one-score games. The Broncos have earned their confidence in those moments.

I’d still like to see a few games where they don't need it.

That’s why the start of this game stood out to me. The offense played with some urgency from the jump. Nix challenged the secondary and converted the third downs that had been killing drives for the past month.

The ball placement can still get better. The answers against pressure need some work. And the interception was a bad one.

But I thought this was his best game of the season.

When the Broncos come back from the bye, that’s what I want to see again. Take the shot when it’s there. Give the receivers a chance. Throw to move the chains.

They don’t need to wait until the fourth quarter to find out if any of that works.

All stats courtesy of Fantasy Points Data.

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