Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates joked about former Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix's amount of experience in college as the Falcons prepare to face the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The Denver rookie played five seasons of college football, including his final two at Oregon.
"We’ve been watching him in college for the past five or six years, however long it was — 10 years," said Bates. "He’s not a rookie quarterback, he seems like a graduate student almost. He’s doing a good job of running their offense at a high level.”
The Atlanta safety might be exaggerating the amount of time that Nix spent in college, but he is complimentary of the rookie quarterback's play. The Broncos are 5-5, and the former Oregon Duck has been earning the respect of those around the NFL.
Most recently, the Nix and the Broncos lost 16-14 to the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Denver had a chance to win the game, but the Chiefs blocked the Broncos' game-winning field goal attempt as time expired.
"Way to play your ass off. Keep leading those dudes. It's just the first one, we got a lot of these," Mahomes told Nix in their postgame exchange, captured by CBS Colorado.
Nix threw for 215 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions in the loss.
The Broncos can snap their two-game losing streak against the Falcons on Sunday if Nix can continue to efficiently run the Denver offense. Atlanta's defense allows an average of 24 points per game, No. 20 in the NFL.
The Falcons are 6-4 and lead the NFC South, but oddsmakers in Vegas expect the Broncos to win. Denver is the favorite, but the spread is only two points.
Bates revealed some of the team's thought process when preparing for a rookie quarterback like Nix. Despite the amount of time he played in college, the former Oregon Duck only has ten career games in the NFL.
“Ten games, that’s usually enough film to really see a quarterback’s strengths and weaknesses and what they like to do. It’s not multiple years where we can go back and watch what he does. But sometimes, it’s a good thing when you don’t have that much. You’re not overthinking what this quarterback is capable of," said Bates.
The Broncos and Falcons kick off at 1:05 p.m. PT in Denver on Sunday.
