Bo Nix, Kool-Aid McKinstry meet again in the NFL

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix was running toward the end zone on the longest ground gainer of his seven-game NFL career on Thursday night, when the first-round rookie was tackled from behind by New Orleans Saints cornerback Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry.

McKinstry fell into Nix after taking a swipe at the football.

Nix hopped up from his 32-yard run and offered the football toward McKinstry before handed it to an official, who had marked him down at the Saints 5-yard line.

Interviewed on the Prime Video set after the game, Nix was asked about his brash interaction with the defensive back.

“There’s a story behind that,” Nix said. “I played with him in high school. Kool-Aid and I played in high school. Won two state championships together. He was talking smack to me, too. He almost, I guess, stripped it from behind. It’s always fun to play guys that you played with.”

Nix and McKinstry were teammates at Pinson Valley High School when the Indians won the AHSAA Class 6A championships in 2017 and 2018. Nix went to Auburn after winning the ASWA Class 6A Back of the Year Award and the Mr. Football honor for 2018. Pinson Valley won the state crown again in 2020, when McKinstry was the 6A Back of the Year and Mr. Football before going to Alabama.

A second-round rookie, McKinstry had the opportunity to tackle Nix after entering the game when starting cornerback Paulson Adebo was carted off the field with a leg injury with 9:52 left in the first half. The Saints also lost their other starting cornerback, Marshon Lattimore, to a hamstring injury on Thursday night, adding to a long list of New Orleans injuries, which included No. 1 quarterback Derek Carr, who did not play in the Broncos’ 33-10 victory.

“It was a good team win,” Nix said. “Everybody contributed. I thought everybody was on their toes with the short week and came out prepared and ready to roll.”

While the Saints lost their fifth in a row, Denver improved to 4-3. No Broncos rookie quarterback has started more victories than Nix, with 10 games remaining on Denver’s 2024 schedule. John Elway in 1983 and Drew Lock in 2019 also started four victories apiece as rookies for the Broncos.

“You’re talking about one of the greats to ever do it at our organization,” Nix said of Elway. “It means a lot. You’re in great company. Obviously, the job’s not finished. We have a lot in front of us, so we definitely don’t want to stop there. We’re going to continue to get better as a team. I’m going to continue to grow and learn as a player, and, hopefully, we continue to have wins like this.”

Nix completed 16-of-26 passes for 164 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran 10 times for 75 yards as Denver piled up 225 yards on the ground.

“It’s just an added bonus,” Nix said of his rushing yards. “Obviously, you want to run the ball with running backs in special ways and get behind the O-line. But at times, things break down, and those hidden yards, I think, are really important. They get extra first downs, and they’re ways to sneak some yards in, so that was good to see, good to use. We got to continue to do that when it’s there.”

The Broncos converted four third-down snaps in the game, including on Nix’s 32-yard run. Nix also ran for a first down on third down and passed for two more conversions.

“I made this comment to you guys when we drafted him,” Denver coach Sean Payton said after the game. “You watch him play, you don’t feel like you’re in harm’s way. He’s tough to sack. His ball location. Made a lot of plays with his feet. Man, had some close big-play opportunities, but there’s a confidence as a play-caller you get and it allows you to be more aggressive, and we wanted to tonight to come out in that kind of a mindset.”