‘Thank-You, Lord’: Denver’s Bo Nix credits God after record-setting rally

After helping lead one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history Sunday, Denver quarterback Bo Nix dropped to his knees on the sideline, bowed his head, and said a prayer of thanks.

He wasn’t the only one in awe, as his resilient Broncos rallied from deficits of 19-0 and 26-8 for a stunning 33-32 victory over the visiting New York Giants, capped by a Will Lutz 39-yard field goal as time expired. 

Denver set an NFL record by scoring all 33 of its points in the fourth quarter – the most by any team in the final 15 minutes after going scoreless in the first three quarters. 

Nix completed 27 of 50 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns while adding two scores on the ground to help Denver stay atop the AFC West standings at 5-2.  

It was, he acknowledged after the game, an “insane” comeback. 

“We’ve got a tough team,” he told reporters.

As his teammates sprinted onto the field in a wild celebration, television cameras captured a calm Nix kneeling quietly on the sideline, showing little emotion as Lutz’s field goal sailed through the uprights. He briefly bowed his head before standing to hug a friend. 

Asked what was going through his head in the final seconds, Nix turned the conversation to faith. 

“Thank you, Lord, for putting me in that position and choosing me to be the quarterback of this team, and giving us the opportunity to win a game like that,” he said. 

“[I’m] very thankful, just very relieved to win a game like that.” 

It was a comeback like few others. Denver trailed 19-0 entering the fourth and scored a touchdown about a minute into the final frame, but then watched the Giants answer with a touchdown of their own to build a 26-8 cushion with 10:14 left. And even when the Broncos finally did take the lead at 30-26, New York responded with its own touchdown to edge ahead 32-30 with just 37 seconds left. That’s when Nix engineered a four-play, 56-yard drive to set up the winning field goal.  

A Bible verse – Proverbs 27:17 – had inspired Nix and his teammates.  

“And we talked about [Saturday], is ‘iron sharpens iron, so does a man sharpen another,’” Nix told the media, citing the verse. “We had every right to quit, every right to just stop playing for each other. But … we’ve got guys that continue to battle, continue to play really hard. … And when you see that, it inspires other people to do it.” 

Nix is one of the more outspoken Christian players in the NFL. His Instagram profile includes not only a Bible verse (Colossians 3:23) but also a message for his fans: “Jesus saves.”  

Drafted in the first round of the 2024 draft, he was open about his faith in college, first at Auburn and then at Oregon. He has continued to be bold as an NFL player and shared his testimony during a special event this summer at First Baptist Church in Bentonville, Arkansas, speaking to a room full of high school athletes. 

Nix recounted the biblical story of Daniel opting not to eat food from the king’s table. 

“One of the things I’ve always taken from that is Daniel, before he was put in that situation, he had to decide,” Nix said, according to Arkansas Baptist News. “At some point, he had to make the decision that no matter what, as I go on this journey, no matter what position I am going to be put in, I am going to have to make different decisions. … If you really legitimately want to get somewhere of value, want to get somewhere and have success … you have to be different from everybody else. It’s really tough to stick out in a crowd in middle school or in high school. I understand you want to be the ‘cool guy.’ You want to be like everybody else. You want to fit in. But sometimes fitting in is not what you’re supposed to be doing. Sometimes fitting in is actually the opposite of what you are supposed to be doing.”  

He encouraged the students to follow Christ. 

“You’ve got to have a close tight circle, guys you can truly count on, and they’ll help you know the truth, know who God is,” Nix told the crowd. “You’ve got to have your priorities right. You’ve got to be thinking about the right things or you’re just gonna fall.”