The competitive fire that burns within Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix has shocked many. We’ve seen it surface several times, including when it was directed at his head coach on the sideline in Week 5.

It’s a side of Nix’s personality that Broncos head coach Sean Payton enjoys and wants to utilize more as they head into a crucial game against his old team on Thursday night. New Orleans Saints.

This is the first time Nix has had to start a game with a short week turnaround. It has its own unique challenges.

“We talked; this is the first time he’s played in a short week,” Payton said of Nix. “Some of these guys haven’t played on Thursday nights, but that’s the schedule. They’ve played on unique schedules themselves when it comes to bowl games and things like that. It’s really a mentality that you have to prepare for at the end of the day.”

Sticking to the long-term plan to develop Nix means not blinking when faced with the setbacks and criticism the Broncos have faced as of late. Nix and his fierce competitiveness, which Payton referenced, will be crucial if the Broncos are to weather all the ups and downs that inevitably come with the territory.

“Yes, I think we have to because No. 1, you’re going to have quick turnarounds and you’re going to play on Thursdays. You better put it in gear or you’ll be left behind,” Nix said. “You go out there and you’re not prepared and you have a bad game. We don’t want that. Everyone at this level is good. Everyone is good at what they do, they are great players, they are smart and they know the game. It’s hard. You have to raise your level, you have to find something, a competitive advantage over other people.”

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There have been advanced levels of negativity that prevailed after the Broncos dropped a major division game to Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. The Broncos looked very flat for large parts of the Week 6 loss.

As far as Payton is concerned, Nix’s transition from college to the pros is a week-by-week process, sometimes laced with some essential humor. The slow-starting Broncos created a mountain to climb after falling behind early, but when Nix lit a fire under himself in the fourth quarter last week, things got going.

Nix knows that back-to-back weeks of slow offensive starts aren’t enough, so starting faster has been one of the Broncos’ main goals throughout the short week.

“I’ve done it for six games, and these coaches have done it for many more,” Nix said Wednesday. “I don’t really know (that much) when it comes to that. We’re just going to continue to execute, find ways to execute what’s called, and go out and start quickly.

The Broncos locker room is well aware of how emotional it will be for Payton to return to Caesars Superdome, a place where he brought so much success and happiness to Saints fans. Nix is ​​already smart enough to know that tear-jerking distractions can be very costly when the challenges come as quickly as they do in the NFL.

“We understand, but he didn’t really make much of it. For us it’s just another game. I know he put a lot of energy and effort into that organization, so I know it means a lot to him,” Nix said. “We just want to treat it like another game. Attack it and play like it’s a different game.”

Broncos-Saints starts at 6:15 MDT on Amazon Prime Video.

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