The noise around Bo Nix reached a fever pitch entering the Denver Broncos' Week 7 road game against the Arizona Cardinals.

On the heels of a concerningly slow start to the season, Nix passed for just 107 yards against the Seattle Seahawks on primetime, and critics came out of the woodwork to pile on the third-year quarterback. We heard from network pundits like Ryan Fitzpatrick that Nix's performance was "almost disrespectful to the quarterback position," while former teammates joined in the pile-on.

Then the calls for Denver to bench Nix began. From the local airwaves and blogs to a vocal segment of Broncos Country, people genuinely wanted Sean Payton to take action at quarterback.

The din has quieted after Nix's historic performance on the road against the Cardinals. He threw for just 222 yards, but he had four explosive passing plays, including a 52-yard screen that RJ Harvey took to the house.

What seemed to open the floodgates for Nix was his 62-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter. He had a different vibe and energy about him from there on out, and became only the fifth player in NFL history to post a rushing and passing touchdown of 50-plus yards in the same game.

'He's Our Guy'

After the game, Payton explained why he and the Broncos never considered sitting Nix down amid his slump, even, say, to give him a mental breather.

"The confidence inside the building relative to his abilities hadn't changed at all," Payton said on Sunday. "And I appreciate some guys—sometimes you're answering questions about whether or not, and there's not one time where we were [thinking about making a change]— he's our guy."

To his credit, Payton never wavered on Nix publicly. He backed his young quarterback in the immediate aftermath of that Seahawks game — which the Broncos won, by the way.

After seeing the brutal day Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs had against Seattle's defense, the entire NFL world softened its opinions on Nix and his 107 passing yards. Mahomes passed for just 165 yards and zero touchdowns, with an interception.

And that was with Kansas City playing from behind the entire game. A big difference between Mahomes's day against Seattle and Nix's was how the Broncos' quarterback was able to lead to touchdown-scoring drives early in the game to build a two-score lead.

Not only that, but Nix and the Broncos did not turn the ball over against Seattle. The Chiefs had three turnovers.

Here to Stay

It kind of puts things in perspective, doesn't it? What made the Nix cacophony so wild to behold was that the Broncos actually won the game.

For the third straight year of his career, Nix defeated the defending World Champions, and people wonder why Payton and company never considered making a quarterback change.

The calls to bench Nix began after his Week 4 performance against San Francisco, and with each passing week, they grew. As I wrote back then: Bench Nix? Don't make me laugh.

This kid is now 29-12 as a regular-season starter and has a career winning percentage of .707. It's not always pretty, but Nix is a winner; he's a gamer, and he performs at his best when the chips are down and his back is against the wall — just as we saw on Sunday at State Farm Stadium.

Nix was always the one in control of how long his slump would last, but the Broncos kept on winning games. It was no coincidence that in his breakout game, his supporting cast finally rediscovered their complementary playmaking ability.

"It was good to see him play well, and it was good to see us block well and make some plays down the field," Payton said of Nix and the offense.

They say that a franchise quarterback is "the tide that raises all ships." Guys like RJ Harvey, Courtland Sutton, and Marvin Mims Jr. were suddenly executing, getting open, and making would-be tacklers miss, but they took their cues from Nix, whose confidence and aura seemed to come flooding back in waves after his 62-yard touchdown romp.

By the way, did you know that Nix's huge touchdown run was the longest by a quarterback in franchise history? These aren't the first records Nix has set, and they won't be the last.

The Takeaway

The Broncos now sit at 5-2 and they have the chance to overtake the Chiefs in the AFC West this week if they can get the win. Nix has never lost to the Chiefs at Mile High, and given the stakes and his newfound momentum, don't be surprised if he gets the last word on Mahomes and company after Week 1's ugly loss at Arrowhead Stadium.

The toughest opponents on the Chiefs' schedule have only just begun. Besides the Broncos this week, the Chiefs still have to face the 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, and New England Patriots.

The Broncos have already faced the entire NFC West, going 3-1. The Broncos have a few more tough opponents left on the schedule, but the worst is behind them.

If Nix leads the Broncos to a win over Kansas City this week, they could run away with the division and set themselves up to repeat as AFC West champions.

All of the Broncos' goals for this season are still very much on the table — even more reason why benching Nix was unthinkable inside the walls at Dove Valley.

He's always been Denver's guy.