Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix got candid about the adversity he faced at the end of the 2025 season.
“Dear Riley, You won’t remember last season,” Nix wrote, recounting several highlights from the Broncos’ 14-3 season: multiple spectacular comeback wins; their 11-game win streak; and going into the playoffs as home underdogs. But he also recounted his disappointment at not being on the field during the AFC Championship Game.
Despite going 14-3 and winning the top seed in the AFC, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Broncos went into the Divisional Round as underdogs against the perennial powerhouse Buffalo Bills. But the defense forced five turnovers, and Nix took full advantage, passing for 279 yards and three touchdowns with an interception in a 33-30 overtime win.
But after the game, head coach Sean Payton announced that Nix fractured a bone in his right ankle on the second-to-last offensive play of overtime that would require surgery and end his season.
“It hurt. Bad,” he wrote. “Not just physically. It hurt because I love playing the game with my teammates. It hurt because we’ve built something really special. It hurt because when you’re that close to something you’ve dreamed about your whole life, you don’t want it taken out of your hands.”
Nix said he struggles with impatience and needed structure in his life. So it was providential when Riley was born a week before her due date. Being with his newborn helped him learn to be fully present in the moment. He also gained a new appreciation for his wife, Izzy, who had to take care of them both at the same time.
His ankle injury was not the only adversity he faced. His father, Patrick, was on an upward trajectory in the collegiate coaching ranks until he was fired as offensive coordinator for the University of Miami. But losing his job gave him more opportunities to be with his family. He eventually transitioned to coaching high school football, where he won three state championships; he also pursued a career in ministry. Nix’s mother, meanwhile, went to nursing school to support the family while Patrick was out of coaching.
Upon going to college, Nix faced more adversity: he was benched in his junior season, then suffered a broken ankle that also ended his season. After transferring to Oregon in 2022, he led the Ducks to a 12-2 record before losing to Washington in the Pac-12 Championship and missing out on the College Football Playoff. And Nix was the sixth and final QB taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
“Those things don’t feel good,” he wrote. “Early on, they tore me up. I immediately wanted to prove everyone wrong. I wanted to please everybody. Every comment felt personal. Every doubt felt like disrespect. I developed a chip on my shoulder. But I’ve learned that the chip can’t become your identity. It breaks too easily. It’s too fragile. My relationship with Jesus Christ, however, is not. He is my identity.”
At the time of his benching, Izzy sent him two Christian worship songs that reoriented his perspective. Nix said that he finally understood that success could not sustain him, but faith could.
“As you grow up, it is important that your foundation is rooted in this same truth,” he wrote. “Not in what others say, think, or even write about you (which in my profession happens a lot). The outside noise doesn’t determine who you are, where you’re going, or the strength of your relationships. Being your authentic self almost guarantees that some people will question or disagree with you.”
Nix reminded Riley that she has several examples of incredible inner strength to draw from: Nix’s brother Caleb played through a torn ACL at Clemson in 2024, then won First-Team All-Conference USA honors for Jacksonville State in 2025; his adoptive brother Tez Johnson went from living in subsidized housing to being drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“One day, you’re going to face your own setbacks,” Nix concluded. “Things won’t go how you drew them up. Doors will close. When they do, I hope you remember this... Losing isn’t the end. Being doubted isn’t the end. Getting hurt isn’t the end. Sometimes it’s just a redirect. A new path, a new beginning. And sometimes, it’s the only way God can slow you down enough to show you what really matters.”
