ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Tennessee Titans, the Denver Broncos‘ Week 1 opponent, were one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL last year. The 3-14 Titans specifically struggled against quarterbacks taking off against them.
Titans’ All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons hopes he and Tennessee’s defense fix that in 2025, starting with the Broncos and Bo Nix.
As Simmons kicked off preparations for the Broncos on Monday, he took a shot at Nix.
“If his first read not there, he taking off running. So that’s the reason why he don’t take many sacks, because he’s not just sitting in the pocket and trying to read coverage,” Simmons stated. “I would say, we take that first read off, which I know our DBs, our linebackers are going to do a hell of a job on the back end…”
Simmons then doubled down on his comments, making it clear he said what he meant.
“We know Bo Nix going—his first read not there, he going to take off running the football,” Simmons said. “We got to make sure we’re on the same page. We got to make sure we’ve got balanced rushers. Not trying to be robots out there, but at the same time, we know that if it’s not there, Bo Nix is going to take off running. It’s going to be on us up front to make sure we keep him… in the pocket.”
Simmons stated Nix is a one-read quarterback. In the modern-day NFL, that is far from a compliment.
On Wednesday, after the Broncos practice, Sean Payton was asked about Simmons’ comments. To no surprise, Payton firmly had his quarterback’s back.
“I would disagree that he’s just a first read. I know for a fact that’s not the case,” Payton stated. “Now is he confident in his movement skills? Yes, and we’ll get a chance to see ’em on Sunday.”
In his rookie season, Nix had the eighth-most rushing yards among quarterbacks, racking up 430 yards on the ground. Funny enough, the Titans allowed opposing quarterbacks to run for 435 yards on them in 2024, which was the sixth-most in the NFL.
In the first three weeks of the season, Nix totaled 107 rushing yards. In the final four weeks of the regular season, he added an additional 126.
Last year, as the worst team in the NFL, the Titans allowed Drake Maye to run for 95 yards on them in Week 9 and Anthony Richardson to go for 70 yards on the ground in Week 16.
But while Nix can run, Payton made it clear his QB is much more than a one-read-and-run quarterback. Simmons will get to see that firsthand on Sunday as the Titans open the season against the Broncos in Denver.