Don’t look now, but the Denver Broncos are currently the fifth seed in the AFC playoff picture.

And rookie quarterback Bo Nix has been leading the charge.

Getty

They are 5-3, coming off back-to-back wins in dominant fashion over the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers.

And it all starts with Nix.

The rookie quarterback out of Oregon has been named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for October.

He becomes just the third Bronco in franchise history to win Offensive Rookie of the Month honors, and the first to earn the award in more than 20 years.

Through four games, Nix threw for 870 yards, seven touchdowns, one interception and a 102.7 quarterback rating while completing 66.7 percent of his passes.

Most importantly, the Broncos were 3-1 in that stretch.

In an exclusive with talkSPORT, former NFL player turned analyst, Jason Bell, spoke on what he has seen out of Nix and the Broncos over the last month and if he’s buying them as legitimate contenders in the AFC.

“Well, you want to see the improvement,” Bell said. “That’s the key with any player, but especially a rookie quarterback. Sean Payton is coach, obviously his coordinator, and if anybody can teach you how to play quarterback, it’s him.

“So he’s evolved because of that. I like the offense that’s fitting around his skill set. He gets rid of the ball quickly.

“And when he does push the ball down the field, he’s efficient. He’s believing in what he’s seeing, which is the key as a young quarterback.

Getty

“And because the way this defense is playing, they’re putting him in a position to go out there where he doesn’t have to carry the team. They can run the ball. So it’s just about everything around him.

“And when you look about a young quarterback and why they’re successful, it’s usually for that.”

Having Payton as his head coach/offensive guru and a very strong defense, makes Nix’s life a whole lot easier, no question.

Facing the Saints and Panthers in consecutive weeks also makes life easier.

Unfortunately for Nix and the Broncos, the competition the next two weeks gets turned up.

At Baltimore, then at Kansas City.

Everyone will know exactly who Denver truly is after this two week gauntlet.

Bell suggested that we may already know who they are, and we don’t have to wait for Nix to face off against Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes.

Bell simply likes what he has seen so far, and enough games have passed to say Nix and the Broncos are legit.

“I’ve got to buy them now because that’s what it looks like,” Bell said. “At this point of the season, you start to morph into your identity. Bo Nix is playing well, which is the key.

“They’re improving. So if they go out and win this game, I mean, we have to talk about them like that because they’ve beaten one of the strongholds in the AFC if they can go out there and dominate against the Ravens.”

Nix has played very well as of late, but it still remains to be seen if he can do it against the elite teams in the league.

We’ll get the answer in two weeks.

talkSPORT is your home of the NFL on UK radio, join us on talkSPORT2 from 6pm on Sunday for live coverage of Week 9 – and stay up to date with the latest from the league on our dedicated NFL YouTube channel