More Bo 'Bueller' Nothing, please

Near the end of the third quarter, the Broncos' offense inched closer to midfield before a few failed plays halted the advance.

The first was a fumble at the snap on 2nd-and-2. On the next play, on 3rd-and-3, Bo Nix, along with his old Oregon teammate and fellow rookie Troy Franklin Jr., shot into the end zone.

The pass was on the money, but Franklin let it go and Denver had to punt, still with a relatively comfortable 10-point lead — but with a full quarter to play against a division rival.

On the sidelines, television cameras found the drama they love – Nix and head coach Sean Payton in a heated exchange.

In their postgame press conferences, neither the coach nor the QB revealed much about the conversation other than making it clear: “Everything is good.”

“It's part of the deal. There's still a little bit of Ferris Bueller in this player that we need to get rid of. I'm talking about Bo (Nix). I love him to death and sometimes it's my love language,” Payton laughed, later clarifying (somehow) that he sometimes sees a little too much independence from his young quarterback.

“Sometimes you send something in and I don’t want it turned around,” Payton said. “It’s being turned around, but it’s all good.”

Payton's final comment on the situation was a positive affirmation.

“He works hard,” Payton added of Nix. “I am like that. It just is what it is.”

This morning Tim Jenkins took a closer look at the play that we all assume was the source of the current minor drama.

And Jenkins believes Payton was looking for the slant route for a quick 10-yard gain and a first down.

Of course it makes sense.

But Jenkins also notices the defender dropping down and thinks Nix probably didn't feel confident ripping the ball across midfield, so instead he breaks up the play and sees Franklin wide open on the left sideline.

“I think he says, ‘You know what? I know this guy isn’t in my development, but I’m going to go ahead and throw a touchdown,” Jenkins said. “I tend to side with Bo here. I mean… there probably should have been a touchdown.”

Nix did not blame his teammate for his part in the game.

“I wouldn’t put that as a drop on him. That was probably a 60-yard ball that he had to track down and catch. The fact that he made it when I crashed it was pretty impressive,” Nix said. “These are the ones you watch on Sundays and sometimes you just miss. It was good for him to take his first catch in the over. I thought he was about to break out. I think I can help him a lot more than I am. It was very close. So we’d like to have it back and I’ll probably put a yard less on it and he’ll catch it.”

As far as interacting with his coach goes, Nix's first comment was well played.

When asked about the reference to Ferris Beuller, Nix responded just as vaguely.

“I think that literally explains the situation. We’re just out there with great competitive intensity and fire,” he said. “We can have these conversations and go right ahead and score a few more touchdowns. It doesn’t bother us.”

I absolutely love fire.

He respects his coach but is not afraid of him. That says a lot about how he can continue to develop as a franchise quarterback. Sean Payton is known as an offensive mastermind, but he's not perfect and he's not on the field.

It's good to see that a quarterback – who wore a retro John Elway jersey to the game and as a postgame press officer – has the guts to stand up to his coach.

I don't see any player leaving the field with his coach; I see a player leading be Team.

So please more Bo 'Beuller' Nix.