NFL Thursday night: Broncos belt Saints in matchup of rookie QBs

In a matchup of rookie quarterbacks, Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos defeated Spencer Rattler and the New Orleans Saints 33-10 on Thursday night.

Nix has been the Broncos’ No. 1 QB all season after Denver selected the former Pinson Valley High School and Auburn standout at No. 12 in the NFL Draft on April 25. Rattler was the 150th pick and had been backing up Derek Carr until an injury put him into the lineup for his NFL debut on Sunday in New Orleans’ 51-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Nix completed 16-of-26 passes for 164 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions as the Broncos ran over New Orleans for 225 rushing yards.

Nix contributed 75 on 10 rushing attempts, including the longest run of his NFL career – a 32-yarder to the Saints 5-yard line to set up a touchdown as Denver took a 26-3 lead with 5:53 left in the third quarter.

Rattler completed 25-of-35 passes for 172 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions and ran five times for 34 yards. Rattler was sacked six times, and Nix was not sacked.

Rattler lost two fumbles, including one that Denver linebacker Cody Barton caught in the air and returned 52 yards for a touchdown with 4:06 to play as the Saints lost their fifth straight game.

In addition to Nix, five players from Alabama high schools and colleges got on the field during the Denver-New Orleans game:

· Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine (Spanish Fort) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Kwon Alexander (Oxford) started at inside linebacker for the Broncos. In his 2024 debut, Alexander made one tackle and recovered a fumble. Alexander’s fumble recovery came at the Denver 45-yard line with 3:39 left in the first quarter, and the Broncos turned the takeaway into a field goal for a 6-0 lead. Denver elevated Alexander from its practice squad to make him eligible to play.

· Broncos linebacker Zach Cunningham (Pinson Valley) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Saints cornerback Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry (Pinson Valley, Alabama) made three tackles. The rookie had played 30 defensive snaps over the past four games, but McKinstry entered the lineup on Thursday night when Paulson Abedo was carted off with a leg injury with 9:52 left in the first half, and the Saints lost their other starting cornerback, Marshon Lattimore, to a hamstring injury.

· Broncos linebacker Drew Sanders (Alabama) is on the physically-unable-to-perform list and not eligible to play.

· Broncos cornerback Tremon Smith (Saks) made one tackle on special teams.

· Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham (Auburn) made his 2024 debut by taking the final two snaps and kneeling out the victory for Denver.

· Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II (Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive. Surtain sustained a concussion during Denver’s 23-16 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

· Levi Wallace (Alabama) started at left cornerback for the Broncos. With Patrick Surtain II sidelined by a concussion, Wallace made his first start of the season, and he tied for the team lead with eight tackles.

Denver (4-3) plays the Carolina Panthers at 3:25 p.m. CDT Oct. 27 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.

New Orleans (2-5) plays the Los Angeles Chargers at 3:05 p.m. Oct. 27 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.