Fans and Broncos writers are cheering Aqib Talib after the former Denver cornerback fired back at Ryan Fitzpatrick, who sharply criticized Bo Nix's effort on Thursday Night Football.
Nix went 17 of 27 for 107 yards with no touchdowns in Denver's 17-14 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6, and Fitzpatrick tore into him on the postgame show on Prime Video. Talib, a Super Bowl 50 champion, answered on the "Gridiron" podcast, as the clip made the rounds in the aftermath of Fitzpatrick's cutting criticism.
Fitzpatrick said he was glad the Broncos scored twice in the first half but found the rest frustrating to watch, and he put part of that on Nix.
"Bo Nix is not playing competitively. It's almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he's playing football right now," he said.
However, Talib turned Fitzpatrick's phrase back on him, saying that the former quarterback played for nine teams over 17 seasons.
"We're talking about a guy who played 17 years, 147 starts, right, and never sniffed the playoff game. He never touched the playoffs ever. That's disrespectful to the quarterback position."
Fitzpatrick's career numbers include 169 interceptions and a 59-87-1 record as a starter, and Talib did that math out loud: "You throw more picks than you start games."
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Mile High Report, SB Nation's Broncos site, shared Talib's clip with a two-word message for him: "Tell em."
Broncos writers cheered, too. Mile High Huddle senior editor Zack Kelberman called Talib "an absolute must-watch, every time."
Mile High Huddle founder Chad Jensen shared the "Gridiron" clip and said Talib had just demolished Fitzpatrick's argument.
Fans joined in. One fan called Talib "a legend."
Another fan said Talib "fried" Fitzpatrick.
Broncos columnist Troy Renck also offered a blunt reaction. "Take Ryan Fitzpatrick off Aqib Talib's Christmas card list," he wrote.
Not every Talib supporter was defending Nix's night, though. One fan sided with Talib but made no excuses for Nix: "To be clear, Bo Nix was buns that game, but Fitzpatrick talking about disrespect to the QB position with his track record is actually wild."
That concession tracks with the season so far. Through Week 6, Nix has completed 60.3% of his passes with a 79.4 passer rating, with the latter ranking 26th of 31 qualified quarterbacks, and his 5.8 average intended air yards are the shallowest of those 31, according to Next Gen Stats.
Pro Football Network's NFL QB Impact Grade has Nix at 66.5 through Week 6, 29th of 34 graded quarterbacks.
Denver is still 4-2 and second in the AFC West, but PFN posted a blunt question: "Even after the win, is it time to hit the panic button in Denver?"
Whether Nix's play proves Talib or Fitzpatrick right is still an open question.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
