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Jeff Legwold, ESPN Senior WriterOct 6, 2024, 09:30 PM ET
- Jeff Legwold is a senior writer who covers the Denver Broncos and the NFL at ESPN. Jeff has covered the Broncos for more than 20 years, joining ESPN in 2013. He also assists with NFL draft coverage, including his annual top 100 prospects. Jeff has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1999. He has attended every scouting combine since 1987.
DENVER — Those who have played for him, coached alongside him or have known him for any length of time have said Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton had a fiery, needle-in-the-red “game-day Sean” persona.
If Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix had not been introduced to “game-day Sean” before Sunday he certainly was with 1 minute, 39 seconds left in the third quarter of the Broncos’ 34-18 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Empower Field at Mile High.
The two had a heated exchange after a potential touchdown pass from Nix to rookie Troy Franklin fell incomplete on a third-down play, an exchange that reheated on the bench and eventually included Franklin as wide receiver Courtland Sutton tried to get everyone to their neutral corners.
“It’s part of the deal,” Payton said. ” … There’s still a little Ferris Bueller in this player that we’ve got to get rid of, talking about Bo, and I love him to death. Sometimes it’s my love language.”
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” the 1986 John Hughes-directed comedy, features Matthew Broderick as the main character — a snarky and rebellious suburban Chicago high school student who skips school to have one last adventure before graduation.
Asked to expand on why Nix reminded him of the main character of the movie, Payton added:
“Ferris was kind of quirky, doing his own thing once in a while,” Payton said. “You watch the movie? You ever seen it? He’s still got a little Ferris Bueller in him … look, there are times where you send something in and I don’t want it flipped and then it gets flipped and so it’s all good. He works his tail off and I am that way. It just is what it is.”
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Asked for his take, Nix said with a smile: “He turned and looked at me and said ‘I love you’ and I turned and said ‘I love you’ back.”
It was the most visible sideline exchange Payton has had with a Broncos quarterback since his dress-down of Russell Wilson during the team’s loss in Detroit last December was caught on camera.
With 1:46 left in the third quarter, the Broncos had a third-and-3 at the Raiders’ 45-yard line. Nix evaded the Raiders’ rush on the play and saw Franklin sprinting up the right sideline without a defender within 5 yards.
Nix said his pass was slightly overthrown as the diving Franklin could not come up with it. Nix and Payton had words as Nix ran to the sideline and then moments later on the Broncos bench, Nix, Franklin and Payton were all firing missives and waving their hands.
Sutton appeared to try to get everyone involved to separate and later went over to Nix to shake hands before the Broncos’ next possession.
“Simple play, [Payton] wanted it to the boundary and it just kind of got confused in the huddle and I tried to get things right and we ended up having it and had a chance and I overthrew it, but that’s part of the game sometimes,” Nix said. “With the huddle operation, sometimes, you just have got to make the most of it, with the play clock moving, make the most of it and fortunately it didn’t bite us.”
Nix later threw his second touchdown pass of the game and ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The rookie had one touchdown pass in the first four games of the season.
“I watched the movie, I think that’s funny … we’re just out there with great competitiveness and fire and we can have those conversations and move right back along and score another few touchdowns and it doesn’t bother us,” Nix said. “I think that movie is funny … I’ve only seen it a handful of times because it’s kind of old.”
Nix sported a throwback John Elway jersey following the game. The Broncos had their alumni weekend as well, with the 1977 Orange Crush defense being honored. The Broncos wore throwback uniforms with the ’77 colors and logo during Sunday’s game.
“Growing up he was my dad’s favorite quarterback,” Nix said of Elway. ” … That being my dad’s favorite player, just two guys who’ve put me in a situation to go out there and succeed. … I had it in the closet and wanted to put it to use.”
