Bo Nix stands up for Troy Franklin, even if everyone will see right through it

Travis Wakeman

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Bo Nix stands up for Troy Franklin, even if everyone will see right through it image

The Denver Broncos cruised past the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, winning 34-18 to improve to 3-2 on the season. Very little went wrong for the Broncos, but there was one pretty embarrassing play. 

Late in the third quarter, the Broncos held a 20-10 lead and had a chance to deliver a knockout blow when Nix fired a deep ball on 3rd-and-3 to Troy Franklin, who was open by at least five yards in the end zone. Instead of hauling in his first career touchdown pass, the ball went right through Franklin's hands. 

Franklin may have misplayed the ball a little before it hit his hands, but in the NFL, you have to catch that pass. Though nobody is going to fault Nix for that play failing, the quarterback still took responsibility for it when addressing the media following the game. 

Way to stand up for your college teammate, Bo. That is absolutely what leadership looks like. 

Troy Franklin is off to slow start in NFL career

The Broncos traded up 19 spots in the draft to select Franklin, who played with Nix in college at Oregon. But things have not gone swimmingly for him thus far. 

He had a quiet training camp and preseason and was seemingly behind fellow rookie Devaughn Vele, a seventh-round pick. Vele was active in the season opener and Franklin was inactive. But a rib injury set Vele back and he has not played since that Week 1 game. In his absence, the Broncos have tried to bring Franklin along. 

Franklin did catch the first pass of his career on Sunday, a 20-yard reception. But he'll have visions of that ball falling through his hands in the end zone for some time to come. It has to be nice to know that his long-time quarterback has his back the way that he does. 

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Travis Wakeman

Travis Wakeman Photo

Travis Wakeman has been covering the NFL since 2012 when he started with Bleacher Report. After reporting about the Broncos there until 2016, he joined the FanSided network as a site expert covering the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers while simultaneously covering the Broncos at Broncos Wire when that site launched. He then took over the Broncos site at FanSided in March 2020 and covered the team there until spring of 2024. A lifelong Broncos fan and fan of the game, Travis is filled with sometimes useless NFL knowledge, but it always serves him well in any trivia contest. You can follow him on Twitter/X @traviswakeman10.