Bo Nix and Sean Payton get into heated discussions after a botched game against the Raiders

DENVER – The best performance of Bo Nix’s young NFL career included a heated interaction with coach Sean Payton in the Broncos’ 34-18 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

In the third quarter, after a deep pass from Nix to rookie wide receiver Troy Franklin fell incomplete in the end zone, cameras captured Nix and Payton having a lively discussion on the sideline.

“He turned around, looked at me and said, ‘I love you,'” Nix said with a grin after the Broncos snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Raiders with their third straight win. “I turned around and said, ‘I love you back.'”

Payton said afterward that Nix “turned over” the play, resulting in an incomplete third down, resulting in the Broncos leading 20-10. But the coach added it was “all good” and “part of the deal”.

Broncos HC Sean Payton and rookie QB Bo Nix had this exchange on the sideline after Denver punted on their final drive.

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“It’s just that there’s still a little Ferris Bueller in this player that we need to get rid of if we’re talking about Bo,” Payton said. “And I love him more than anything. So sometimes it’s my love language.”

When Payton was asked to explain the reference to Matthew Broderick’s character in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” he said, “He’s got a little bit of that in him.”

Mischievous?

“Not that. Perhaps. A little bit. Somehow. Subtle,” Payton said.

Nix recounted the implication that he had seen “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” but only a few times “because it’s a little old.”

The Broncos clearly didn’t like the interaction after the team scored 34 unanswered points in the win. That included two passing touchdowns and another rushing touchdown from Nix, who completed 19 of 27 passes for 206 yards and didn’t throw an interception for the third straight game.

“We can have these types of conversations and go right back and score,” Nix said.

Nix said the play in question, which appeared to be a drop into the end zone by Franklin, was actually the quarterback’s fault.

“It was a simple piece; we turned it around,” Nix said. “(Payton) wanted to make it to the boundary and we were just a little confused there in the crowd. I tried to do it right and we had a chance. I rushed it, but that’s part of the game in the huddle sometimes. Sometimes you just have to make the best of it.”

Nix said the fact that Franklin “got to the ball when I overthrew him was pretty impressive.”

Franklin had a 20-yard catch at the end of the second quarter that set up the field goal that gave Denver a 13-10 lead.

“He’s on the verge of breaking out and I think I can help him a lot more than I did,” Nix said.

Required reading

(Photo: Tyler Schank / Getty Images)