One game is not going to make or break someone’s career, but Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix did not look good in his debut against the Seattle Seahawks last week. Nix threw the ball 42 times in Week 1, and completed only 26 of those passes for 138 yards and two picks. Due to his performance last week and being a rookie, Pittsburgh Steelers DT Cameron Heyward wants to make Nix put the ball in the air often tomorrow.
“I think the thing you gotta do is put him in situations where they have to throw the ball and then he’s gotta look at the disguises,” Heyward said on The Sirius XM Blitz.
The Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin have had a lot of success against rookie quarterbacks. Under Tomlin, Pittsburgh is 24-6 against rookie quarterbacks as he knows how to scheme a defense to make life a living hell for them, although he’s never beaten Sean Payton. The game speed of the NFL moves so fast that disguises in the secondary can lead to turnovers and sacks.
Although Nix did turn the ball over twice last week, Heyward gave Nix credit and admitted that it will be hard to get him off schedule and force him into bad decisions.
“Bo Nix is a special talent that doesn’t turn a ball around a lot in the game, you gotta put him in some tougher situations,” said Heyward.
Later, Heyward emphasized taking away the run game so that Nix can’t just check it down and pick up easy completions and get comfortable.
“I think you’ve gotta be willing to mix it up, first, second, and third, and then take advantage of the running play so he’s really gotta read a defense,” said Heyward. “If you give him check downs all day, he’s gonna be Check Down Charlie, he’s gonna feel comfortable. But you’ve gotta be willing to mix things up and make him feel uncomfortable, where he’s really gotta explore going to his second and third option.”
If the Steelers can shut down the run like Heyward wants to do, it will force Nix to throw the ball further down the field, something he didn’t do against Seattle. Per Benjamin Solak, Nix averaged 3.3 yards per attempt last week. That is a lot of checkdowns and a lot of easy completions to pad the stats. If Pittsburgh can stuff the run and put Nix in third and long situations it will force deeper throws, giving Pittsburgh’s ballhawks a chance to make game-changing plays.
That is easier said than done. Nix now has a week of experience playing against an NFL team that disguised coverages and has a week to study what the Steelers’ defense did last week. The Broncos also ran for 99 yards last week. While not great numbers, they are capable of running the ball.
The NFL is a quarterback league so Pittsburgh has to keep Nix uncomfortable and ineffective if they are going to win tomorrow. Put him in third and long situations, and the Steelers should be in good shape. Let him dink and dunk up and down the field and it could be another long afternoon in Denver for Pittsburgh.
