Sean Payton and Bo Nix bury the hatchet after a heated exchange to win

DENVER — Those who played for him, coached alongside him or have known him for any length of time have said that Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton had a fiery, dubious “Gameday Sean” personality.

If Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix hadn’t been introduced to “Gameday Sean” before Sunday, he would certainly have been there with 1 minute, 39 seconds left in the third quarter of the Broncos’ 34-18 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders at Empower Field in Mile High.

The two engaged in a heated exchange after a would-be touchdown pass from Nix to rookie Troy Franklin fell incomplete on a third-down play, an exchange that heated up again on the bench and eventually involved Franklin, as wide receiver Courtland Sutton tried to push everyone to their neutral corners.

“It’s part of the deal,” Payton said. “…There’s still a little Ferris Bueller in this player that we need to get rid of when we talk about Bo, and I love him to death.” “Sometimes it’s my love language.”

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” the 1986 John Hughes-directed comedy, stars Matthew Broderick as the main character – a snarky and rebellious high school student from a Chicago suburb who skips school to go on one last adventure before graduating experience.

When asked why Nix reminded him of the film’s main character, Payton added:

“Ferris was kind of quirky and did his own thing every now and then,” Payton said. “Are you watching the movie? Have you ever seen it? He still has a little bit of Ferris Bueller in him…Look, there are times when you send something in and I don’t want it to be turned over, and then it gets turned over, and then it’s all good. He works his tail off and I’m like that. “It just is what it is.”

Asked for his opinion, Nix said with a smile, “He turned around, looked at me and said ‘I love you,’ and I turned around and said ‘I love you’ back.”

It was the most visible exchange Payton has had with a Broncos quarterback since he tackled Russell Wilson and was caught on camera during the team’s loss at Detroit last December.

With 1:46 left in the third quarter, the Broncos had a third-and-3 at the Raiders’ 45-yard line. Nix dodged the Raiders’ rush on the play and saw Franklin sprint up the right sideline without a defender within five yards.

Nix said his pass was easily forged as the jumping Franklin was unable to do so. Nix and Payton were chatting as Nix ran to the sideline, and just moments later, Nix, Franklin and Payton were all firing off letters and waving their hands on the Broncos’ bench.

Sutton appeared to try to get everyone involved to separate, later walking up to Nix to shake his hand before the Broncos’ next possession.

“Simple game, (Payton) wanted it to the boundary and it just kind of got mixed up in the scrum and I tried to do things right and in the end we had it and had a chance and I overthrew it, but that’s Part of the game.” “Sometimes,” Nix said, “sometimes you just have to make the most of it when the game clock is ticking, make the most of it, and luckily it didn’t bite us.”

Nix later threw his second touchdown pass of the game and ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The rookie had one touchdown pass in the first four games of the season.

“I’ve seen the film, I think that’s funny… we’re just out there with a lot of competitive pressure and fire and we can have these conversations and go right ahead and score a few more touchdowns and it doesn’t bother us,” Nix said: “I do I think the movie is funny…I’ve only seen it a few times because it’s pretty old.”

Nix wore a retro John Elway jersey after the game. The Broncos also had their alumni weekend honoring the 1977 Orange Crush defense. The Broncos wore throwback uniforms with the 1977 colors and logo during Sunday’s game.

“He was my dad’s favorite quarterback when I was growing up,” Nix said of Elway. “…That was my dad’s favorite player, just two guys that put me in a position to go out and have success.”…I had it in the closet and wanted to use it.”