And just like that, the Denver Broncos are out! The underdog Orange team had their hearts broken by the Buffalo Bills (31-7) on Sunday in the wildcard round. Despite being a rookie, Bo Nix did great—he finished with 13-of-22 passing for 144 yards and a TD with no turnovers—leading the team to its first playoff appearance since their 2015 Super Bowl-winning season. While fans are still ruing at the missed opportunity, looks like Nix’s wife couldn’t be more proud.

On January 12, Izzy Nix shared an Instagram Story after the match. It was a zoomed-in shot of the Broncos’ QBs on the sidelines. In the picture, Nix seemed to be taken by the action unfolding on the field, along with his teammates, Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham. On a heartfelt note, complete with a crying and blue heart emoji, she captioned the Story: “Will never find the words for this qb room & what they mean to us. They were in our corner from start to finish and believed in Bo, when they certainly didn’t have to.”

She also tagged Wilson’s fiancée, Nicolette Dellanno, and Jarrett’s wife, Kennedy Stidham. Indeed, this heartbreak moment was enough to make any Broncos fan emotional…

Nevertheless, reaching the post-season this year could arguably be called a success for the Broncos (10-7). The team’s belief in Nix, as well as his learnings from his rookie year, should help him rise higher in the future.

A bitter ending to a sweet beginning for Bo Nix!

On the opening drive of Sunday’s game, 24-year-old Bo Nix threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to his former college teammate Troy Franklin, leading Josh Allen’s Bills 7-0. It seemed like the Broncos were there to play. But, unfortunately, they never scored again, as the Bills and their experienced QB took charge of the game. It was tough, but being the Broncos’ rookie QB knows he has a lot more to do for the team.

This is evident from what he said during the post-game presser. Bo Nix quipped, “A lot to grow from, a lot to learn from. I haven’t been in the league long enough to know how far off we are. I just know we competed against some really good teams this year. Next year’s going to be a new year and we just got to go and compete like we did this year. To make the playoffs was a special moment for this group. It’s something we can build off of. … Our goals are changing.”

Well, that’s a great way to address the loss and learn from it. Nix and his team will try again next season with more experience under their belt. Sean Payton, too, learned from the loss, as he mentioned, “We got beat today. Especially in the postseason, it’s always a bitter pill to swallow. It’s got to fuel you and light a fire in the direction we need to go. One of the things we learned early on is we got to find a way to play these games at home.”

The Broncos have now dropped to a 2-7 record in the wildcard round. But they have high hopes for Bo Nix, who sets a high standard for himself, apparent from what Sean Payton once said, “He’s hard on himself. He coaches himself. He has high expectations as the competitor that he is.” Well, with that fire in his heart, Nix could slowly grow into one of the best in the league. What do you think?