Kudos to Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton for taking the bold step of not only giving Bo Nix the starting job before Week 1, but also naming him team captain.

For Payton, the decision to draft Nix instead of veterans Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson had a lot to do with the tremendous experience he gained during his time at Auburn and Oregon in college.

Payton was adamant that Nix could step in and act like a veteran quarterback, but that hasn’t come close to happening over the last two weeks.

Nix, 24, threw for 138 yards with two interceptions in his regular season debut in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks, resulting in a narrow 26-20 road loss for Denver.

Nix did get the ball up the field a little more often on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Pittsburgh’s first-class defense was too much for the young signal-caller.

Nix completed 20 of 35 passes for 246 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. He had trouble finding open receivers. He had trouble with pocket presence and timing. It is also becoming clear now that Nix is ​​out of his depth as a starter at this early stage of his career.

Nix, for his part, tried to put a positive spin on his Week 2 performance.

“I think when you look back at the film, I think I made a good move,” Nix said, via the Denver Broncos’ official website. “But sometimes good moves don’t lead to wins. So it’s a long process. It’s a tough league for a reason. We just have to keep going as a team, as a group, find ways to get better and build and take steps. I have to do the same.”

Watching the video will help. Using it as a learning experience will, too. However, the Broncos are doing Nix a disservice by keeping him as QB1 in what will likely be a losing season for the 0-2 team. Here’s why.

The Denver Broncos’ plan for Bo Nix must be for the future

This is the most obvious takeaway after the first two weeks of the season. As mentioned above, it’s good to gain experience. Unfortunately, the experience Nix has had so far is not a good thing.

Let’s look at Zach Wilson, a fellow Broncos quarterback. The New York Jets’ plans for the BYU product when they selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft played a role in Wilson’s flop in Jersey. As a rookie, he started 13 games in the talent-starved Jets offense.

Wilson threw nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions in that first season, and showed no improvement over the next two seasons before being traded to Denver for a pittance last spring.

At some point, putting a young and inexperienced quarterback on the field does more harm than good, especially with an offense that doesn’t really have the ability to bolster him. That’s the honest assessment here.

What’s next for the Denver Broncos and Bo Nix?

“I just told the coaches that this side of the ball needs to be cleaned up. It starts with me,” Payton told reporters of the Broncos’ offense after Sunday’s loss. “We really need to start looking at who we’re asking what of.”

Denver had a total of 62 yards of offense at halftime. Nix was the best runner with 25 yards. This was mainly due to the fact that he was fighting for his life.

Basically, the Broncos are a team that is only in last place. They are not ready to be competitive in the long term. The fact that Nix will be playing from the start does not change that.

Of course, it’s too early to say the Broncos should crash, but the facade of bringing Nix into the team will only do more damage.

At this point, the Broncos need to move either Stidham or Wilson into the starting lineup. In my opinion, Wilson should get the nod. He’s still young. He can provide some trade value if the quarterback plays at a high level.

Nix is ​​unlikely to be back on the field until he gains more practice experience and the Broncos actually sign more talent at the skill positions. They have invested too much in him to continue down the path we have seen other teams take with young quarterbacks in the recent past.