Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix had a day to forget in his NFL debut, posting a 47.5 passer rating thanks in part to two bad interceptions.

After an eventual 26-20 loss, Nix focused on the positives, noting that Denver fought back and had a chance at the end.

“It was a challenge,” Nix said. “It was a tough day. They certainly didn’t make it easy for us. Like I said, we battled. We went out there and scored at the end and gave ourselves a chance to win. We were an inch away from a nearly batted ball that Riley Moss made an unbelievable play that they just played better. It’s tough. You have to give them credit, but we battled and we kept battling.

“That’s the emotions of today, that we have a competitive team. We have a team that doesn’t give up. And we’re going to put everything on the line. It doesn’t matter if it’s an ugly start, we’re going to keep finding ways to finish.”

Nix finished the game completing 26 of 42 passes for 138 yards. He rushed for a touchdown at the end of the game, but did not throw a touchdown pass. Nix was asked specifically about the first of his two interceptions after the loss.

“Yeah, I thought that was a bad call,” Nix said. “We had points. They got the ball at 1. Then we got a safety, so our defense saved us.”

The defense “saved” the offense with a safety, but if that drive had ended in a touchdown, it would have resulted in five more points than if a safety had been made in a game decided by six points.

There is still plenty of room for improvement after his debut and Nix is ​​confident the team will take steps forward after Sunday’s loss.

“We’ve got to watch the film, see what’s in there,” the rookie said. “We’ve got to find areas to improve. I don’t think we were far off. There will always be improvement, even if we that game won, we go there and correct it the same way. So find ways to make plays as efficiently as possible and stay out of third and longs. In general, find ways to get a win in this “difficult matches.”

Nix and Co. will get their first chance to fight back when the Broncos host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2 at Empower Field at Mile High.