It may have been medically in the cards for it to happen, but still, Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix took the injury news hard. And now that the season has ended, it seems obvious that the Broncos would have given the Seahawks a better Super Bowl than the Patriots if they had Nix.
In the Divisional Round win over the Bills, Nix suffered an ankle injury that ended his season. It put the Broncos in the AFC Championship game against the Patriots. And the subsequent 10-7 loss led to a dreadful Super Bowl, where the Patriots simply could not compete.
It would have been a different story if the Bo Nix-led Broncos had been in the big game.
Broncos would have pushed Seahawks to the limit
There are some similarities between the Patriots and Broncos. Included in that mix was having a second-year quarterback running the show.
It’s not to say that Nix is better than Drake Maye. Certainly, Maye had the better 2025 season. He barely missed out on the NFL MVP award.
However, the Broncos were clearly better overall than the Patriots. This showed up in the 10-7 AFC Championship Game loss.
A huge mistake by backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham set the stage for the Patriots’ only touchdown. Without that play, the Broncos would likely have won the game. Even without Nix.
With Nix, the Broncos would have handled the Patriots pretty much the same way the Seahawks did. Not in terms of running the ball down the Patriots’ throats as Seattle did in the Super Bowl. But they simply would have put more than seven points on the board. And the Patriots would not have moved the ball any better against the Broncos’ defense, even if they knew they needed more points.
The Patriots’ conservative approach played a role. But as tackle Garrett Boles said, Nix would have been the difference, according to NFL.com.
“They can say what they want — whatever they want — but we lost by three points,” Bolles said. “It wasn’t the snowstorm, it wasn’t anything. Stiddy did everything he can. Love that dude. I’m so grateful he came in and handled the business he did. But it would be a different ball game if we had our quarterback.”
The Super Bowl would have been incredible
The Broncos’ defense would not have succumbed to the Seahawks offense the way the Patriots did. They would have gotten better pressure on Sam Darnold.
Think about this: Darnold struggled against the Patriots’ pressure. And it never really got there. The Patriots managed only one sack in the 29-13 loss.
But the Broncos would have gotten home and finished. And Darnold’s 19 of 38 effort for 202 yards may have been worse from a completion percentage and yardage standpoint.
Now, to be fair, the Broncos would have struggled to move the football in the same way the Patriots did. But remember that it was 19-7 in the fourth quarter and the Patriots were driving to make a game of it. A second-and-three interception by Maye — a terrible throw or a terrible decision — was one of the key plays of the game.
Because the Broncos’ defense is so much better than what the Patriots put on the field, the score may have been more like 10-6 into the second half. The Broncos would have remained within striking distance throughout.
And who knows if they would have been able to hit a play late in the game that changed the outcome?
There’s another reason it would have been a better Super Bowl
Even if the Seahawks managed to put points on the board against the Broncos, there’s reason to believe the Broncos could have matched it.
Why? Because the Broncos had the best offensive line in football, according to Pro Football Focus.
“For the second season in a row, the Broncos fielded the most efficient pass-blocking offensive line,” Zoltán Buday wrote. “Denver’s unit gave up 137 pressures, including a league-low six sacks, leading to an 89.5 PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating. The Broncos’ line was the only unit to allow fewer than 13 sacks this season.”
The Broncos would have handled the Seahawks’ pass rush. It would have been the same as the Rams did against them. For all of the genius credit given to Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, his defense didn’t really stop the Rams.
Now, the Broncos don’t have the same offensive personnel as the Rams. And this isn’t to say the Broncos would have been able to win a shootout.
But the point is that the Broncos could have put 14, 17, or 20 points on the board. And what turned out to be a boring yawner of a Super Bowl could have been much more thrilling. Of course, we’ll never know. And the wait is on for another classic Super Bowl after a back-to-back duds.
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