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

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

Nix jumped up from his 32-yard run and offered the football to McKinstry before handing it to an official who had marked it at the Saints’ 5-yard line.

After the game, Nix was interviewed on set by Prime Video and asked about his brazen treatment of the defensive back.

“There’s a story behind it,” Nix said. “I played with him in high school. Kool-Aid and I played in high school. Won two state championships together. He also spoke directly to me. I guess he almost took it off from behind. It’s always fun to play against the guys 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 2018 Mr. Football award. Pinson Valley won the state crown again in 2020 when McKinstry was the 6A Back of the Year and Mr. Football before heading to Alabama.

McKinstry, a second-round rookie, had the opportunity to face 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 that included No. 1 quarterback Derek Carr, who was lost in the 33-10 loss Broncos didn’t play victory.

“It was a good team win,” said Nix. “Everyone made their contribution. I thought everyone was coping well with the short week and were well prepared and ready to go.”

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

“You’re talking about one of the all-time greats to ever make it in our organization,” Nix said of Elway. “It means a lot. You are in good company. Clearly the work isn’t done yet. Since we still have a lot to do, we definitely don’t want to stop here. We will continue to get better as a team. I will continue to grow and learn as a player and hopefully we will continue to get 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 racked up 225 yards on the ground.

“It’s just an added bonus,” Nix said of his rushing yards. “Obviously with running backs you want to run the ball in a special way and get behind the O-line. But sometimes things break, and these hidden courtyards are really important in my opinion. They allow for additional first downs and provide opportunities to sneak in a few yards. It was good to see and good to use. We have to continue to do that when the time comes.”

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 that comment to you guys when we drafted him,” Denver coach Sean Payton said after the game. “When you watch him play, you don’t feel like you’re in danger. He’s hard to fire. His ball location. Played with his feet a lot. Man, I had a few close chances to make big plays, but you have a certain confidence as a play-caller that allows you to be more aggressive and we wanted to come out with that mindset tonight.”