Bo Nix takes hits in a fiery Broncos practice as he nears return to game action

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Bo Nix didn't have to wait until Friday night against the Green Bay Packers to get a game-like feel as he takes his biggest step yet in his comeback from two ankle surgeries.

The Denver Broncos quarterback got knocked around a bit in a spirited full-padded practice Tuesday. His pocket collapsed one time and Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper and Malcolm Roach were right on top of him and he went down.

Nix got up off the ground and fired the football in the direction of Bonitto and Roach. A couple of plays later, right tackle Mike McGlinchey was in the middle of a scrum as players pulled their teammates off the pile of bodies.

“I love it,” Nix said of the over-the-top physicality. “It's football and it's getting me ready for the games coming up and it's a physical practice out there played by physical people.

"So, it got intense and we were just really enjoying it. And sometimes in the dog days of summer, practice gets long and the intensity runs high.”

Tempers tend to flare this deep into the summer, but Denver's coaches weren't pleased the competitiveness kept crossing the line.

“Obviously, you can't cross the line. That's against the rules," defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. "So, practice, games, when we're playing our style of football, it's aggressive, downhill. But we can't ever cross the line and hurt our team. ...

"Bo's our quarterback and we don't want anyone near Bo."

“Yeah, it's going to happen, we just can't cross the line,” said offensive coordinator Davis Webb. “(Sean) Payton said that and I agree. I'm glad that we're fiery and I love the competition out here. It's been unbelievable to watch both sides of the ball win some periods and win some plays. But yeah, we can't cross the line and that's offense and defense. That's not just one person, one position group, we all had a part in that.”

And they were sure going to hear about it later inside team headquarters.

“So, we're going to handle that and make sure we understand we're the Denver Broncos, not offense versus defense,” Webb said.

Nix is preparing for his first live action against another team since breaking his right ankle in Denver's overtime win against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC divisional round on Jan. 17. He missed the Broncos' loss to New England in the AFC championship a week later that put a sour end to a 15-4 season.

“I'm super excited," said Nix, who watched Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger split snaps in the Broncos' 27-7 win at Atlanta in their preseason opener last week.

Payton surrendered offensive play-calling duties this season to Webb, who has called two preseason games in his short coaching career, neither of which Nix played in.

“So, this will be the first time in a game with him in my helmet,” Nix said. “And I think it'll be fun."

Nix had a solid training camp, pushing off his back foot to drive passes without a problem, but offseason acquisition Jaylen Waddle missed a week with a lower body injury and only returned to practice this week, so they're still working on their budding chemistry.

Also, the Broncos have had a rash of injuries at center with Luke Wattenberg missing two weeks with an upper body/shoulder injury, backup Alex Forsyth missing time due to an undisclosed injury and third-stringer Michael Deiter suffering a season-ending torn quadriceps.

Nix looked on the bright side, saying, “You can't always anticipate what's going to happen in a game and it's keeping us all on our toes. It's allowed me to be a little bit more in on the fine points and in on the communication and it's forcing me to take a bigger role in that.”

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