AFC Notes: Justin Herbert, Quentin Johnston, Bo Nix, Broncos, Chargers

Broncos

Broncos first-round QB Bo Nix finds himself right in the thick of the Offensive Rookie of the Year race despite not getting nearly the same preseason hype as other quarterbacks in his class. Nix praised HC Sean Payton for being an excellent teacher who has helped him understand the nuances of the game.

“He’s always coaching,” Nix said, via SI.com’s Albert Breer. “He’s always teaching. I pick up stuff from him from meetings or watching videos, on the practice field with alignments or splits or coverages. You name it. He’s just coaching and teaching. It always feels like he’s on it, and he’s always in coach mode. There’s never a moment where you’re not getting everything you can around him.”

“I’m just blessed to be with a coach like that, that knows the offense and has been around some greats and has coached some greats and he’s a great himself. It’s really good to have that.”

Chargers

After failing to convert promising drives to touchdowns, the Chargers fell to the Ravens in Week 12 by a score of 30-23. Los Angeles QB Justin Herbert feels they did well in some fundamentals but they need to finish more drives to take down tougher opponents.

“I appreciate the way the guys battled and fought there at the end,” Herbert said, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “It’s an unfortunate ending. We wanted to score more points and we didn’t do that. You’ve got to take a look back at getting those opportunities in the red zone and making sure that we’re converting on third down. I thought we did a good job of limiting turnovers, keeping the ball, and doing everything we can. We’ve just got to score more points.”

• Herbert came to support of WR Quentin Johnston after a rough outing in Week 12: “I think that’s the tough part about the NFL. He’s a playmaker. He’s done an incredible job all year. You never want to see that. Just like when I throw an interception or when I miss a throw, he’s gonna come up to me and tell me, ‘Hey, it’s the next play’. And that’s the way it is.” (Alex Insdorf)
• He continued: “Everyone in that locker room is professional. Q will do a great job. I can give him better placement, and better balls. It’s on all of us. It’s not just on him, it’s on me for the way I gotta deliver the ball. I gotta make sure we’re all on the same page. He’s an incredible player and I’m gonna keep throwing him the ball.” (Insdorf)

Chargers

Chargers WR Quentin Johnston had a rough outing in Week 12, highlighted by a crucial third-down drop after an improved start to the year. Johnston is looking to move on from a low point in the season and knows he has to play better going forward.

“You kind of just learn not to dwell on it too much, and just try to put it past me as much as I can,” Johnston said, via Joe Reedy of the Associated Press. “Obviously I want to have catches back, but I can’t. So I can’t do anything but just learn from it. … I know I’ve got to get better.”