On a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for Bo Nix, the rookie quarterback demonstrated why he's the man the Broncos have been missing for years.
In one of the wackier football victories ever witnessed by anyone in this dusty old cowtown, the Broncos beat Indianapolis 31-13 Sunday despite Nix's best efforts to throw away the game and flush a prime opportunity for Denver down the chute.
And I would say it was one of his finest moments in 14 games as an NFL quarterback.
On a December afternoon when he threw for a measly 130 yards, not to mention three head-scratching, miserable interceptions, Nix stunk.
"I'm not going to lie," he said. "It's tough."
Nix refused to wallow in the stench and didn't let his mistakes defeat him.
That's not only a major reason why the Broncos will enjoy a winning season for the first time since 2016, it demonstrates why teammates Bo-lieve in him through thick and thin. Let Denver offensive tackle and locker-room philosopher Mike McGlinchey explain.
"I wouldn't say it was (Nix's) night, but he got it done when needed to get it done," McGlinchey said. "It just shows how tough he is, how much of a competitor he is. It takes a lot of mental strength to play in this league when you're struggling."
The Broncos dug out of an early 10-0 hole against Indianapolis for at least a dozen more important reasons than the QB wearing No. 10 in Denver's offensive huddle.
During the second half, the Broncos scored 24 straight points because linebacker and defensive player of the year candidate Nik Bonitto did Von Miller things, snatching a turnover out of thin air and taking a fumble to the casa for a 50-yard touchdown.
Marvin Mims Jr. brilliantly returned punts from here to a Pro Bowl spot in Orlando.
Craziest of all, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor casually dropped a touchdown and Indy's playoff hopes in the dumpster with a move so stupid a half stride shy of the goal line that he should've just kept running to the parking lot and waited to be cut.
The untold story of this victory, however, was how Nix sat himself down on the Denver bench after each of his interceptions and with the voice inside his head, gave himself a licking but kept on ticking.
I asked Nix what thoughts bounced around the dark corners of his noggin after the tough situations he repeatedly put himself in with not one, not two, but three infuriating picks.
"That's a great question," Nix said. "A very deep question."
In a sport that revolves around the quarterback, after each mistake, the internal churn can spin further out of control.
"It gets to where you feel like: 'Every time I throw it, is it going to be picked?' You start having those mental thoughts," Nix said.
"It's probably the toughest part of our position, because you know what you're capable of. You know the read. You know your footwork, how to go through it. Then you just have to keep from being gun-shy. Don't let one (mistake) turn into another false vision and see things that aren't actually there. I felt like I saw the game well today, but that didn't keep me from turning the ball over. So what is it? I have to get back to the sideline and regroup."
Sign Up for Pikes Peak 5 Game analysis and insights from The Gazette sports staff including columns by Woody Paige and Paul Klee.
Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Featured Local Savings
With a 9-5 record, the Broncos currently have a claim to the No. 6 playoff seed in the AFC. According to most fearless forecasts based on football analytics, Denver now owns better than a 90 percent chance of ending a proud franchise's eight-year postseason drought.
It is too early to declare Nix as the Broncos forever quarterback.
His footwork can be sloppy and his ability to drive the ball down the field can be more circumspect than consistent.
Nix, however, is not afraid to fail.
Barely a month into his tenure as the team's starting quarterback, during a heated sideline exchange with Sean Payton during a victory against the Raiders, Bo showed he won't be bullied by anything or anyone on the field.
Football eats QBs for breakfast.
Only the strong survive until the next snap, much less sundown.
That's why this victory just might prove to be more valuable to Nix than all the rest that came before this no good, very bad day.
"You start getting a little bit in your head and you start questioning: 'Am I actually seeing it? What was that?' So it's tough, but I feel like everybody goes through it," Nix said.
"The ones that can get out of it and finish the game and win and not let it dictate the outcome ... that's usually when you find some maturity and you find some growth."
He doesn't have the best arm talent or best statistics in the league.
"It's not the first time I've thrown three interceptions in a game," Nix said. "Hopefully it's the last, but football probably will tell you it's not going to be."
He isn't John Elway or Peyton Manning and never will be.
But he's got something priceless in a cruel game that dares a quarterback to fail and fall on the scrap heap where so many first-round draft picks go to rust.
It's more than what's between his ears or in his heart.
He's got chutzpah. And I mean that in the best sense of the word.
Nix is a tough nut to crack.