Backstory on verbal exchange between Payton and Nix in 2024 Broncos game revealed

The shouting match between Broncos coach Sean Payton and quarterback Bo Nix during the teams’ October 2024 win over the Las Vegas Raiders remains one of the defining points of their time together.

It showed that Nix was willing to bark back at his head coach. It demonstrated that Nix had the resilience and fight that Payton craves in his quarterbacks, as he wants an independent thinker and problem-solver and a resolute presence, not one who will stare blankly in a similar situation as Russell Wilson did the year before, his visage as frozen as wallpaper.

In Seth Wickersham’s extensive ESPN piece about Payton’s preparations for the AFC Championship Game in January, some of the backstory on the verbal dust-up was revealed.

As Wickersham reports, days before that game — which would end in a 34-17 Broncos rout over their longtime rivals — Nix had asked Payton how long he intended to continue calling plays.

Payton told Nix he planned to go for “eight, nine years.”

Then came the game against Las Vegas. Per the report, the quarterback and coach were on different pages when it came to goal-line tactics in that moment — particularly “whether to be aggressive near the goal line,” per the report.

Payton yelled back at Nix, “You know the question you asked me the other day? Right now, it feels like one or two years — if this continues!”

BRONCOS HAVE A DIFFERENT PRIMARY PLAY-CALLER NOW IN DAVIS WEBB

Of course, it turned out that it actually WAS “one or two years,” at least when it came to the role of primary play-caller.

While Payton won’t completely take his hands off the wheel — a point he made at the NFL Scouting Combine — Davis Webb now handles the bulk of the Broncos’ offensive play-calling, having assumed the role in the weeks after the 10-7 AFC Championship Game loss.

The question for Payton and his future play-calling responsibilities could come next year if this Denver team flourishes and Webb earns a head-coaching shot elsewhere, having already been in the mix for such jobs last January.

But for now, it’s fascinating to note that Nix’s heat-of-the-moment insult proved prophetic.