On Nov. 12, 1967, Johnny “Mr. Quarterback” Unitas posted the first game in NFL history in which a player had at least 300 passing yards and four touchdown passes with no interceptions and a completion percentage of .840 or better.
Fifty-seven years and five days later, rookie Bo Nix turned in the NFL’s 20th such game.
Unitas’ performance came in the Baltimore Colts’ 49-7 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Nix also victimized the Falcons in the Denver Broncos’ 38-6 victory on Sunday.
Unitas was playing his 149th NFL game. Nix played in his 11th on Sunday.
“I feel like each week, like coach said, I’m finding ways get better,” Nix said, “and just seeing different things. It’s always adjusting on the fly and reacting to what you see. You can study all you want, but I can’t go out there and predict that plays that they’re going to run and what calls they’re going to be in, so at that point, you’re just reading and reacting.
“I think we do a good job of putting me in a good spot, letting me have some answers and choices, and we just go out there and find them.”
Nix completed 28-of-33 passes for 307 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He became the first rookie in NFL history with 300 passing yards, four TD passes, no interceptions and a completion percentage of more than .750 in the same game.
“I thought he played well,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “You feel like you’re in good hands. He’s smart with the football. He makes plays with his feet. A lot of times you’re calling plays for certain looks. The looks aren’t there, he’s got that ability to create and all the while protect the football. I thought he played really well.”
Nix started the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Nate Adkins to cap Denver’s first possession.
Nix traced the Broncos’ Sunday success to the third snap of the game, when he had a 16-yard completion to wide receiver Courtland Sutton.
“I think honestly if you look back at it, the biggest play of the game was the first third-and-long,” Nix said. “They could have got us three-and-out. We come out, get a man free on third-and-long, Courtland gets open and we protect and get the ball out and get a completion. It’s really hard to get third-and-longs in this league, so whenever you can find those, it’s always good.
“I think that was a key contributor to the plays we made after that, and that kept us going in many drives. And so that kind of jump-started us, and we were able to complete that drive with a touchdown. It’s great if you can start, obviously, when you can start a game with a touchdown. That’s what you want to do. It’s just great for momentum. It gets the crowd into it quickly. It takes some pressure off your defense. They can play with a lead early, so it’s good for all parties.”
Nix had another 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Marvin Mims with 25 seconds left in the first half. The Broncos moved 70 yards in 10 plays in 2:23 to take a 21-6 halftime lead. The former Pinson Valley High School star completed 6-of-7 passes for 75 yards as Denver overcame a 12-yard loss on a sack during the series.
Nix threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Troy Franklin with 9:05 left in the third quarter and a 41-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey with 9:03 left to play.
“When I woke up this morning,” Nix said, “I thought each day you get to go out there on the field and play for a team, for a franchise who believes in you and an organization that does so much for you. Sometimes you just wake up ready to roll. It’s a blessing to be in my spot, to be in my shoes. Each day is a new opportunity, a new time to go out there and play in front of the home crowd that showed up today. It was a lot of fun.”
The victory lifted Denver’s record to 6-5 heading into a return to AFC West play against the Las Vegas Raiders at 3:05 p.m. CST Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Atlanta also has a 6-5 record.
Nix became the fourth Auburn quarterback with at least four touchdown passes in a game. Cam Newton had three games with five touchdown passes (all in the 2015 season) and three with four for the Carolina Panthers. Dick Wood and Dieter Brock each had a game with four TD passes – Wood for the New York Jets in 1963 and Brock for the Los Angeles Rams in 1985.
Nix’s big game allowed another former Auburn quarterback, Jarrett Stidham, to play for the second time this season. Stidham handled Denver’s offense for the final possession.
