CBS’s broadcast of the Denver Broncos’ dramatic playoff win over the Buffalo Bills caught the horror moment that quarterback Bo Nix suffered a season-ending injury.
Nix suffered a broken ankle in the Denver Broncos’ 33-30 overtime win over the Bills in a thrilling AFC Divisional clash on Saturday night.
The Broncos signal caller will now require season-ending surgery, coming as a disaster on an otherwise historic night for the franchise.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton confirmed the injury as he addressed the media following the matchup, revealing that Nix sustained the injury just a few plays before the team’s game-winning field goal.
Footage of the play Payton appeared to be referring to has since gone viral on social media with NFL fans left horrified over the moment Nix’s season was delivered its ending blow.
On a first-and-10 from the Buffalo 36-yard line with 6 minutes, 4 seconds left in overtime, Nix attempted to hold onto the ball but he was tackled on the run by safety Cole Bishop for a loss of two yards.
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix suffered a season-ending injury on Saturday
The moment the signal caller broke his ankle was caught on CBS’s broadcast
The second-year quarterback went flying over the top of Bishop’s back before slamming to the turf.
Nix quickly got to his feet, and although he appeared to be gingerly limping back to the huddle, it wasn’t immediately clear that he had suffered any damage.
He stayed in the game, on the next play, the 25-year-old threw a deep pass to Marvin Mims Jr. that drew a 30-yard pass-interference flag and got the Broncos well into field-goal range. He then took a knee to center the ball for Wil Lutz’s game-ending 23-yard field goal.
It was only following the victory that the devastating extent of Nix’s injury became apparent.
Payton revealed that the signal caller will undergo surgery to repair the fracture on Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama.
‘He’s such a strong, faith-based guy,’ Payton said about Nix. ‘He’s sitting in the hallway with his family and coming over and we’re all talking to him.
‘He knows that God’s got a plan for him and he said he had (a broken ankle) in high school and then he said he had one at Auburn.’
‘And I said I didn’t realize that. I said if I had known that I wouldn’t have drafted you,’ the Broncos coach joked.
Nix was tackled on the run by Buffalo Bills safety Cole Bishop for a loss of two yards
The second-year quarterback went flying over the top of Bishop’s back before slamming down
As his starting quarterback now prepares for surgery, Payton must turn to understudy Jarrett Stidham in next weekend’s AFC Championship game.
Stidham will start against either the New England Patriotsor Houston Texans, who battle it out in the other AFC Divisional game on Sunday.
‘He is ready,’ Payton said about his backup quarterback, who has not thrown a regular-season pass in the NFL since 2023. ‘We’ll be ready for the next challenge.’
The Broncos have not contested an AFC Championship game since 2015, when they went on to win Super Bowl50.
Lutz’s overtime field goal sealed a pulsating 33-30 victory on Saturday and sent Denver to a conference title game for the 12th time in franchise history. They are 8-3 in those games.
Josh Allen, Nix’s opposite number, and the Bills (13-6) again were denied an opportunity to win the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy. Buffalo has been knocked out in the divisional or championship rounds in six straight seasons under Allen and coach Sean McDermott.
Allen and Nix traded go-ahead touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and Buffalo’s Matt Prater kicked a 50-yarder to send it to overtime.
After the Broncos punted on the opening drive, Allen threw a deep pass to Brandin Cooks that would have put the Bills in field-goal range, but Ja’Quan McMillian snatched it away for an interception as both players tumbled to the ground.
Two pass-interference penalties on Buffalo gave the Broncos 47 yards and set up Lutz´s winning kick. Tre’davious White, who was called for the second one that moved the ball to Buffalo’s 8, threw his helmet down in disgust while arguing and got an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty.
