SEATTLE (AP) — It wasn’t a perfect start for Bo Nix. But Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton saw plenty of promise in his rookie quarterback's NFL debut.

Nix, the 12th overall pick in the draft, finished on the short end of a 26-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. It was a frustrating day, filled with a lot of short passes, a few poor decisions and some late heroics that came up just short.

“It was a challenge, for sure, to say the least,” Nix said. “I thought they were a really good defense. I thought they played well in their scheme. I thought they rallied to the football. It was tough to get some explosive plays. And I think when you have a hard time getting explosives, you’ve got to sustain drives.”

Pushing the ball downfield was the biggest issue Nix faced. He finished 26 of 42 passing, but for only 138 yards, an average of just 3.3 yards per attempt. He also threw two interceptions, the first to Seahawks safety Julian Love early in the second quarter, and the other to Seattle cornerback Riq Woolen with 5:37 left in the game.

“He’s a rookie quarterback, he’s very talented obviously, Bo is,” Love said. “But it’s Lumen (Field), first game, first start, he’s a rookie quarterback, he’s going to get the ball out quick. And so that’s why you see a lot of check downs today. A lot of great tackling I felt like by us, and then they tried to test the waters a few times deep, and I think we defended well.”

Nix showed some promise and resolve late in the game and gave Denver a chance to pull off a late comeback. He followed his second interception by leading a seven-play scoring drive that Nix capped with a 4-yard TD run to pull Denver within six with 2:19 to go.

Payton was pleased with Nix’s resilience and pointed to some dropped passes by the Broncos’ receivers as a part of the rookie’s struggles.

“He gave us a chance, you know?” Payton said. “Our protection was average at best. … At one point in the game, I came to the bench and talked to the receivers and said, 'Look, you know, let’s go. I don’t know how many drops we have, but man, let’s help this guy.’"

Nix is just the eighth quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw 40 passes in a game and finish with fewer than 140 yards through the air. The Broncos went three-and-out seven times and had eight punts, and were never able to get the run game going. Nix led Denver with 35 yards rushing. The three running backs Denver used combined for 64 yards on 20 carries.

“It was a tough day,” Nix said. “You know, they didn’t make it easy on us, that’s for sure. But we competed, we went down and scored there at the end and gave overselves a chance to win.”

While the numbers weren’t inspiring, the Broncos chose to look at the positives.

Nix had a 23-yard scramble and completed four passes for 27 yards on Denver’s final drive before his rushing score, and showed poise and leadership in the huddle, wide receiver Josh Reynolds said.

“I love that, a quarterback that continues to fight,” Reynolds said. “With our team, we just continued to fight. It looks good, we’ve just got to clean up stuff.”

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