Broncos QB Bo Nix blames Alex Forsyth for blocked FG in Kansas City, “very unfortunate and very unfair”

Sean Payton reiterated his belief Wednesday Denver’s game-deciding blocked field goal in Kansas City last weekend was a coaching failure.

“I felt sick watching it,” Payton said. “And I was like, ‘Hey, that’s on us.’ In other words, (it’s) technique and then also: are we asking the right players to do the right things?

“(Offensive line coach) Zach Strief played forever and played that position. He’s someone that each of us, after watching, as coaches felt like we were letting the players down and we had to see that and correct that. It’s difficult when that happens. That’s how we felt.”

Alex Forsyth’s teammates may have been feeling sick in the aftermath of the Broncos’ 16-14 loss to the Chiefs. first about the outcome of the game and then about the criticism of the Broncos’ second-year offensive lineman.

Quarterback Bo Nix played a year with Forsyth at Oregon in 2022 and is now a teammate with him again, meaning Nix has known him as long or longer as almost anyone on the Broncos roster. Then earlier this year, Forsyth started four games at center for the rookie quarterback when Luke Wattenberg was on injured reserve.

Nix, a captain and up-and-coming leader, took a long, deep breath Wednesday before answering a question about Forsyth and his behavior since Sunday.

“I think it’s very unfortunate and very unfair that a piece ultimately comes down to one moment and people can say it belongs to one person.” choose. “Nobody prepares as well as Alex Forsyth. No one goes through the moments during the week and gets every set and every look they can to go out and put their team in the best spot possible (like Forsyth).

“I think it’s unfair that unfortunately it’s the game we play and all our mistakes are on national television and everyone sees them. And there’s a lot of negative talk when someone messes up. But I think we need to know how valuable he is to our team, how much he is respected in our locker room, and it really irritates me that people can say those things about him and not even see how he works or how he reacts or how he plays.”

In the locker room, players came at Forsyth’s defense with a similar intensity. Right guard Quinn Meinerz plays two spots within Forsyth on the field goal unit.

“I think the debt is kind of ridiculous,” Meinerz said. “Over the last few days I have become quite upset with the general reporting and the way this is being handled on all the different platforms. He prepares every week to play as a left, right and center back. He came in and played for us in the middle. He has been asked to stand on the point and he has done so. He also does field goal work. He has a lot of jobs he works on every day. I have a lot of respect for the way he works, the way he grinds, the way he asks questions.

“He’s a great player and he’s been one of the reasons for the success we’ve had on the offensive line when he was with us. There’s a handful of reasons why that happened to him and I’ve given him as much support as I can, because that’s an unfortunate situation. Playing that position on a field goal is one of the most difficult jobs in sports and perhaps in all sports.

Part of what Meinerz is referring to: the third man from center is where most of the pressure the Broncos have faced on field goal attempts has come from. This year alone, all but two of the 22 instances of a player being knocked down on a field goal and extra point attempt I’ve played that spot either on the left side (Forsyth 15 times) or on the right side (Alex Palczewski three times, Calvin Throckmorton twice).

Meinerz also said Forsyth wouldn’t have been in that position if the offense hadn’t stopped after three straight drives to start the second half.

As Nix continued his defense of Forsyth onstage, he said he thought Forsyth “would probably respond better than anyone in that situation.”

“I respect him so much and I hate that he has to go through all this, but sometimes it’s part of the game and it’s what we signed up for,” Nix finished. “I’m happy to be on his team. I am proud to call him a teammate and I know he will respond very well to that.”

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