On Tuesday morning, Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto hopped on Kay Adams' "Up & Adams Show" and attempted to put into words the developing clutch gene of one Bo Nix.

"He lives for those type of moments, man," Bonitto said, smiling. "He's come up big for us two times this year already in the clutch like that. And when it's time to let Bo cook, man, he's been doing his thing."

Stats don't lie. For three straight games, Nix has morphed from Denver's lost prince into a relentless werewolf when the clock hits the fourth quarter. Nix has completed 45 of 66 passes (68%) in that quarter for 494 yards, four touchdowns, one interception and a 104.0 quarterback rating. When trailing with less than four minutes remaining, he's 6 of 9 for 103 yards and a score.

Broncos podcast: What just happened? Breaking down one of the wildest fourth quarters you'll ever see.

Nix is a rhythm player and has consistently seemed to find it when the game speeds up around him. A four-touchdown frame lifted the Broncos over the Giants in one of the most improbable comebacks in franchise history Sunday, and Nix bowed his head in relief on the sidelines after Wil Lutz's game-winning field goal, another Herculean effort sealed.

But how does this keep happening, where Nix is held in check for three quarters only to explode? The answer lies, as always, in the tape. Here's a breakdown of three key themes across Nix's 53 dropbacks against the Giants that explain this bust-to-boom phenomenon.

On Wednesday, Nix sent a pretty clear message -- or at least took a pretty clear stance -- on why he stalled out against the Jets for long stretches in Week 6.

"I can just control what I can control," Nix said then. "There for a while, it was just -- executing the plays that were called. And wasn't necessarily getting a whole lot of action."

He didn't early in Week 7, either, even as Broncos head coach Sean Payton now has weeks of film that show Nix is at his best when playing in controlled chaos. Five of Nix's first 13 dropbacks came on quick-hit screens, as Payton tried to establish the screen game on second down (all five of those came on second down). The problem there was both predictability and a consistent lack of success in blocking. Rookie RB RJ Harvey finished with zero yards on four carries in large part because of a couple of screens where Denver tight ends and wideouts consistently whiffed on blocks.

Payton's screen game would've been effective if the Broncos had executed better.

Nix has attempted the most screen passes of any quarterback in the league through seven games. Among 24 QBs with at least 200 drop-backs, he ranks seventh in yards-per-attempt (5.8) on those plays, according to Pro Football Focus. There's been success. But Denver largely went away from it Sunday in the second half. And for good reason: Eight screens charted by The Denver Post against the Giants went for just 25 total yards.

It's telling that Nix said he got in rhythm on a simple 7-yard out to Courtland Sutton, when he was actually tasked with throwing downfield rather than dumping the ball off to his playmakers. From that point forward, he was 17 of 29 for 186 yards and two touchdowns.

Nix's flat-foot deliveries are no longer an odd quirk. They are a real problem.

In short, Nix often grounds his feet into the turf when he's afforded a clean pocket, doesn't appear to generate much momentum, and misfires because of it. Take a short slant near the goal line to Marvin Mims that connected for 7 yards, but ended up behind Mims because Nix's feet were already planted.

This persisted even as Nix started to get going in the fourth quarter. With five minutes left and Denver in striking distance from the 7-yard line, Nix stared down rookie Pat Bryant for two seconds on an open slant, didn't move his feet, and had a scoring chance wiped out as Abdul Carter tipped away his pass. With two minutes left and the Broncos needing a score from the Giants' 38-yard line, Nix again planted and fired well behind Troy Franklin on an out route.

The Denver Post charted 15 pass attempts where Nix was statue-footed. He was 7 of 15 for 39 yards on such throws, with a couple of key misfires. The Giants batted down five of Nix's passes at the line of scrimmage on Sunday. A common thread among almost all of those was Nix's feet staying planted, leading his eyes -- and the eyes of Giants defenders -- to linger too long on his intended target.

But when he operated on designed rollouts, or stepped into his throws from the pocket? Oh, man. Nix's best throw of the first half came on a 32-yard deep crosser to Sutton while he was rolling to his right. And his late-game superhero moments -- a 31-yard back-shoulder strike to Marvin Mims to set up a go-ahead touchdown, and a 23-yard ball to Sutton to set up the game-winning field goal -- came as he hopped into his throws.

Generally, in a continued trend, Nix appears more accurate when his feet generate momentum.

Nix's passing chart from Sunday -- courtesy of NFL's Next Gen Stats -- shows a lot of success and emphasis on intermediate-to-deep throws to the sidelines. And a gaping hole over the middle of the field.

This, of course, was evident on film. Nix does not like throwing intermediate routes to receivers sitting or crossing in that area of the field. He passed up a couple of opportunities for Tory Franklin and Pat Bryant in that area. But he lets it rip when he sees a one-on-one back-shoulder shot for Sutton or Mims, as he did several times in the fourth quarter.

It's a consistent pattern at this point. Nix's passing charts against the Jets and Eagles are much the same. And his overall stats show a clear avoidance of the intermediate-middle: Those throws comprised 9.3% of his total attempts in his rookie season, as compared to just 4% in 2025, according to PFF.

That, overall, could be a rough explanation for his heating up. Defenses can't scheme to take away the sidelines -- or avoid back-shoulder matchups with Sutton on a corner -- as often when the Broncos are playing faster in the fourth quarter. But Nix might need a more established target over the middle, or more of a willingness to look there, to open up the offense.

How is Broncos QB Bo Nix heating up in fourth quarters so consistently? Breaking down the tape.