Whatever happens, the rest of this season, remember Sunday afternoon at 4:25 p.m. That’s when Bo Nix became the Broncos’ quarterback.

Until then, other than the first drive in Tampa Bay and two pitches against the Jets, he only held the title role. But with a memorable five-minute sideline, Nix came of age.

He kicked off the training wheels and argued with coach Sean Payton.

Nix held its own and it no longer feels like this franchise is stuck in quicksand.

“He turned around and looked at me and said, ‘I love you,’” Nix joked, “and I said I love you too.”

This was the Hallmark Channel version of what unfolded in the Broncos’ convincing 34-18 victory over the Raiders, their first against their rival since 2019. The director’s cut featured more colorful language and featured rookie receiver Troy Franklin, Courtland Sutton, quarterback coach involved. Davis Webb and Nix.

It stemmed from an incompletion in the third quarter. Nix fired a deep ball into the end zone to a wide open Franklin. He stretched out his body and dropped it. Payton didn’t want this play and admitted Nix turned it over. When Nix returned to the sideline, he turned his lid. It prompted Payton to compare Nix to a famous 1986 movie character.

“There’s still a little bit of Ferris Bueller in him that we’re trying to get rid of,” Payton said. “I love him to death. And sometimes (what you saw) is my love language.

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? Nix didn’t take a day off. He never does that. He is prepared and diligent. That’s why this upset was so important, because it showed a quarterback who knew his role.

This is the real Nix. He’s getting hot. He did it at Auburn. He did it in Oregon. He did it when his father, Patrick, coached him in high school in Alabama.

In the film, Bueller skipped school to help his friend Cameron earn self-respect. On Sunday, Nix earned the respect of his teammates.