Sean Payton: Bo Nix is fiery, we’re in the business of passion

After Sunday’s win over the Raiders, head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Bo Nix joked in their separate press conferences about the heated exchange they shared on the sideline.

In his Monday news conference, Payton noted that he “absolutely” likes that Nix is willing to speak up.

“All good. It’s the heat of the moment, it’s the game,” Payton said. “It’s competitive, he’s fiery. We’re in the business of passion. We’re looking for passion, and we’re looking for people who have passion for the game — not other things. I think that it’s so important to him.

“Again, I loved his response. We’re on to the next play, and it’s nothing.”

Nix has made strides over his first five games, reaching a new high in passer rating at 117.2 in Sunday’s victory over Las Vegas. He completed 19-of-27 passes for 206 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the contest.

Payton said Monday that Nix “had good command of what we were doing, and I was pleased” with the performance on Sunday.

But there are still a number of things Nix can improve upon.

“We watched the tape this morning, and what we just talked about there might be four plays he’s looking at [saying], ‘I wish we would’ve, I could’ve done this,’” Payton said, adding Nix is understanding the game better. “The amount of personnel groupings for instance that he sees defensively. … So he’s doing a real good job with his protections and understanding where he’s short.

“I think he’s playing with confidence, and every week his feet make some plays for us that are important. I keep getting back to — I think there were two sacks yesterday — but he’s hard to sack. When he plays, you’re not on the cusp of a minus play. He has real good command of what he’s doing. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: We have to keep painting a better picture around him.”

Nix has completed 61.8 percent of his throws for 866 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s also rushed for 119 yards with three TDs.