Broncos finally have their successor to Peyton Manning

It took 10 years and 13 different starting quarterbacks but the Denver Broncos have finally found their successor to Peyton Manning. Bo Nix, who the Broncos drafted 12th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft became the first quarterback to lead the Broncos to the playoffs since 2015. Denver needed a win in Week 18 against the Kansas City Chiefs, who were resting all of their starters, and they got it, winning 38-0.

Nix went 26-for-29 with 321 yards and four touchdowns in the win that clinched Denver the AFC's seven-seed. Denver will travel to Buffalo as huge underdogs to play the Bills in the Wild Card round on Sunday.

The rookie is headed to the #NFLPlayoffs!

Bo Nix made sure to show @Broncos fans ALL the love after the game 🧡💙 pic.twitter.com/qtEfZq3bOA
— NFL (@NFL) January 6, 2025

Not only did Nix lead the Broncos back to the playoffs for the first time since the Peyton Manning-era, but he broke Manning's single-game completion percentage record in doing so. Nix completed 89.7% of his passes against the Chiefs while Manning completed 89.3% of his passes against the then-Oakland Raiders in the 2013 regular season finale.

Nix also joined Hall of Famer John Elway as the first Broncos quarterback to lead the team to the playoffs as a rookie. Even if the Broncos can't pull off what would be one of the biggest playoff upsets in history over the Bills on Sunday, they can be happy in the fact that they finally have a quarterback they can rely on.

In the years between Manning's retirement and Nix's start in Week 1, the Broncos ran through a rotating wheel of quarterbacks. Russell Wilson, 30, and Trevor Siemian, 24, started the most games among the 13 who started at least a game from 2016-2023. Nix should hit 31 starts during Denver's 14th game next season.

The rookie out of Oregon put up impressive numbers in his rookie year, throwing for 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Fun fact for all the Broncos fans out there; Nix's 29 passing touchdowns this season is more than Elway had ever thrown in any of his 16 years in Denver. He topped out at 27 passing touchdowns in 1997.

Denver has been waiting for what seems like forever for a consistent starting quarterback and they seem to have found one in Nix. The Broncos will be playing with house money on Sunday at Buffalo in a game no one expects them to win. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.