Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix’s first playoff game could hardly have started any better. The rookie’s first pass gained 19 yards on a third-and-8 snap against the Buffalo Bills, and his second went for a 43-yard touchdown to wide receiver Troy Franklin.

After that, Buffalo’s offense had the football for 41:43 and Nix and the Broncos had it for 15:53 as the Bills posted a 31-7 victory in the first round of the AFC playoffs on Sunday.

“We just didn’t have the ball a whole lot after that,” Nix said. “It was kind of a strange game. We got in a good rhythm early. Got the ball immediately, went down and scored and then felt like the ball was tough to get the rest of the time.”

The Broncos still had a chance to go into halftime with a tie after Nix completed 4-of-5 passes for 41 yards and ran twice for 14 yards in a two-minute drill that set up a 50-yard field-goal attempt on the final snap of the second quarter. But Wil Lutz’s kick banged off the right upright, and Buffalo opened the second half with a field goal, a 24-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass and a 55-yard touchdown pass on its first three possessions.

“It was a tough game,” Nix said. “Obviously, enjoyed being in the playoffs, but wish we would have played a little bit better today. Overall, a lot to grow from, a lot to learn from. We’ll be able to do a lot this offseason and grow from this and learn from it.”

The loss sends Nix into his first NFL offseason. The former Pinson Valley High School and Auburn quarterback joined Denver as the 12th pick in the NFL Draft on April 25.

“I’m going to attack it,” Nix said. “We got a lot of building and learning and growing to do, so that’s what I’m very excited about. I think offseason, offtime is not my favorite because of the vacation, but offtime is my favorite because it’s time to get better and it’s time to work on my craft, to work on the things that I got to work on so that I can be better for our team and we don’t get stuck in this position next year. There’s certain things I can contribute to this team more, and that’s what I got to find and focus on this offseason.”

Nix started every game as Denver reached the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season as the AFC’s third wild-card qualifier with a 10-7 regular-season record.

“I’m really proud of those guys,” Nix said. “We’ve overcome a lot. We’ve not really been counted in for many games. We’ve been that team that’s continued to battle. Not really talked about. Just kind of felt like everybody thought we were just there and we were just another team. But to make the playoffs was a special moment for this crew. It’s something to build off of. It’s not our goal to win the regular season just to make it to the playoffs. Our goals are changing, and I’m excited to be around the Broncos at this time.”

Nix completed 13-of-22 passes for 144 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and ran for 43 yards on four carries against Buffalo.

During the regular season, Nix completed 376-of-567 passes for 3,775 yards with 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and ran for 430 yards and four touchdowns on 92 carries.

Nix had the second-most touchdown passes for a rookie in NFL history as he became the third first-year player with at least 3,700 passing yards and 400 rushing yards. Nix won the AFC Offensive Player of the Week Award twice during the season.

“You go to a new level, you get to the NFL, I expected it to be tough,” Nix said. “But I was pleased at how at the end of the day it’s just football. They got 11 guys; I got 11 guys. We compete to go get first downs and score points. It’s a new system and you’re learning, but you pick it up quick because we’re all professionals. That’s just kind of what we do. That’s our job. I was pleased at the transition. I thought that everybody that had my back during the process did a great job of developing me, getting me ready to go. My teammates accepted me, and that makes it easy for me to jump in and know my role and play.

“But I know the jump from your first year to your second year is huge, and it’s all about if you go back to work with the same mindset — what got me here – and I got to continue to do that so I can continue to do that as a player.”

Denver’s win total in 2024 was its highest since the Broncos won Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7, 2016.

“I haven’t been in the league enough to know how far off we are,” Nix said. “I just know we’ve competed against some really good teams this year. Next year’s going to be a new year. We just got to go out there and compete like we did this year.”

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