Before Bo Nix took a victory lap around Empower Field to celebrate the Broncos’ first playoff berth in nine years, the rookie quarterback first had to earn his teammates’ trust.

That was earned on a Friday morning in August during a joint practice with the Packers. And Nix only needed four plays during a two-minute drill to do it.

The first-round pick quickly led Denver down the field, put his team in scoring position, and created more separation between him and Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson in the team’s starting quarterback competition.

“We got within five yards of scoring, and (Green Bay) said, ‘Let’s start it over,’” wide receiver Courtland Sutton recalled after the Broncos beat Kansas City, 38-0, on Sunday to clinch a playoff spot.

“Seeing a young guy like Bo — this was probably three weeks into training camp — to go out there and orchestrate a two-minute drill against a defense of that caliber was definitely encouraging.”

Green Bay arrived in Denver as one of the best teams in the NFC, led by star quarterback Jordan Love. The Broncos, on the other hand, had low expectations after seven straight losing seasons.

That morning, the Heisman finalist made a statement. Nix was sharp, played in rhythm and took care of the football. His teammates took notice. More importantly, the “young and hungry” Broncos realized they wouldn’t have to wait to become playoff contenders.

The time was now.

“Against Green Bay, you’re competing against live bullets, and you go down (the field) in the two-minute drill a couple of times, and you’re like ‘OK, this kid got something special,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “He’s made of the right stuff.”

On the other practice field, Denver’s defense wreaked havoc, foreshadowing the unit’s regular-season dominance. Edge rusher Nik Bonitto played like the Pro Bowler he turned out to be, recording multiple pressures during the team period and even forcing Love to throw a pick-six.

Love struggled against the Broncos’ secondary. During the two-minute period, he nearly threw two interceptions. Then on third down, star cornerback Pat Surtain II disrupted a pass to wideout Romeo Doubs. Green Bay’s first-team offense retreated to the sideline.

Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said afterward that the Broncos humbled the Packers. Denver added more salt to the wound with a 27-2 victory in the preseason game at home a few days later. The defense forced two turnovers and held Green Bay to 168 yards. Nix shined, completing 8 of 9 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown in his first and only start of the preseason.

“For a couple of days, we had set ourselves apart,” McGlinchey said. “It gave us a belief that we can compete with anybody.”

Months later, their belief was rewarded.

Against a Chiefs defense resting multiple starters, Nix displayed the same efficiency he showcased against the Packers. He completed his first 18 pass attempts — the most by any rookie to open a game in NFL history — and finished with 321 yards and four touchdowns to secure Denver’s 10th win. His performance concluded a remarkable regular season, in which recorded 3,775 passing yards and 34 total touchdowns — third-most by a rookie in NFL history.

Going into Sunday’s matchup against the Bills in the Wild Card round, the Broncos are 8.5-point underdogs. Still, their trust in Nix, first established that day in August, remains strong.

“We have a relentless quarterback, No. 10,” left tackle Garett Bolles said. “… Let the doubters doubt.”

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ST. PETERSBURG — Drew Rasmussen is excited about resuming his role as a starter.

And the Rays on Tuesday afternoon finalized a deal that can reward him, and the team, if he does so successfully, with a multi-year contract that includes a team option for 2027, when he otherwise would have been a free agent.

The deal guarantees Rasmussen, who returned last August from a third elbow surgery, $8.5 million but could be worth up to $28 million. He gets a $500,000 signing bonus, $2 million for 2025, $5.5 million for $2026 and a team option for 2027 for $8 million. The option comes with escalators based on health and innings pitched that could push the total to as much as $20 million; the buyout is $500,000.

Rasmussen was one of six Rays remaining in the arbitration process, facing a Thursday 1 p.m. deadline to agree to terms or head to a hearing. The other five are pitchers Zack Littell, Shane Baz, Garrett Cleavinger; infielder Taylor Walls; catcher Ben Rortvedt.

Rasmussen, 29, was acquired from Milwaukee in May 2021 and excelled as a starter after transitioning from the bullpen that August until being injured in May 2023.

In 44 starts, he went 18-9 with a 2.57 ERA, and a combination of 195 strikeouts and 48 walks over 227 2/3 innings.

Having undergone Tommy John surgeries as a collegian in March 2016 and August 2017, Rasmussen faced an uncertain future when he had surgery again in July 2023 to repair his flexor tendon (though not a Tommy John procedure) and have an internal brace installed.

But his usual determined and diligent work led to an August 2024 return with impressive results, albeit in a relief/opener role, where he was limited to two innings and didn’t throw more than 38 pitches in an outing.

In 16 games, he posted a 2.83 ERA over 28 2/3 innings, allowing 25 hits (no homers) and six walks while striking out 35. And, per fangraphs.com, he was throwing harder than he did before the injury, averaging 97.4 mph with his fastball (compared to 95.7 in 2023), 89.1 with his cutter (88.2) and 96.2 with his sinker (95.1).

Rasmussen could be an effective weapon as a multi-inning reliever, but he expressed his preference to return to the rotation, and the Rays agreed to prepare him during spring training as a starter.

However they have five others — Baz, Taj Bradley, Littell, Shane McClanahan (returning from Tommy John surgery) and Ryan Pepiot — so if all get through camp healthy, there could be a tough decision.

“This is something that Rass is really committed to,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said in December. “We care a lot about Rass the person, the work that he put in to get back. I know the injury history and some of the concerns there. But if you’re going to bet on somebody to carry a workload like that, with his work ethic, he’d be the guy to do it.”

With Rasmussen signed, the Rays will spend time negotiating ahead of the deadline with the other five players.

Littell, 29, is the only player who looks to be relatively expensive, projected by mlbtraderumors.com to make $4.8 million. He earned $1.85 million last season, going 8-10, 3.63 over a team-high 29 starts and 156 1/3 innings, and will be a free agent after this season.

The other four are eligible for arbitration for the first time.

Baz, 25, is entering what he hopes to be his first full season in the majors, having gone 4-3, 3.06 in 14 starts last season, his first action since a July 2022 elbow injury that led to Tommy John surgery. He is projected to get $1.9 million this season, having had a $743,600 salary last year.

Cleavinger, 30, is expected to play a key role as the most experienced lefty in the bullpen, posting a 7-5, 3.75 record and six saves (in eight chances) over a team co-high 68 games last season. He is projected to make $1.4 million after earning $746,900 last season.

Walls, 28, is considered an elite defensive player but his offense has been an issue; last year he hit .183 with a .529 OPS, missing the first two-plus months following offseason hip surgery. He made $757,300 (when he his salary was renewed) and is projected to get $1.3 million this season.

Rortvedt, 27, ended up being the primary catcher after being acquired on the eve of the season opener from the Yankees, hitting .228 with a .621 OPS, throwing out 12 of 76 attempted base stealers. He made $755,400 last season and is projected for a raise to $1.1 million.

Fan Fest moving outside

With Tropicana Field unavailable due to damage from Hurricane Milton, the Rays will move their annual Fan Fest to the St. Pete Pier. The Feb. 15 event will run from 1-5 p.m. and, as usual, will be free, though a ticket is required (see raysbaseball.com/FanFest). The Rays said activities will include “opportunities to interact” with players, games, mascot appearances, a stage show, a charity yard sale, “exclusive VIP experiences” and more, with additional details to come.

GAINESVILLE — Florida finally knocked off No. 1 at home, where the Gators are becoming impossible to beat.

UF did it playing top-ranked Tennessee’s own game.

Coach Todd Golden’s squad put the defensive clamps on Vols and never let up during a resounding 73-43 win Tuesday night, extending the Gators’ winning streak to 16 games in the O’Connell Center — where they are 8-0 and winning by an average of nearly 30 points.

Tennessee entered the nation’s last unbeaten and allowing an SEC-leading average of just 55.9 points, fewer than any team but Houston nationally. But Florida (14-1, 1-1 SEC) staked a 12-0 lead, was ahead 34-15 at halftime and coasted to deliver the Vols their first defeat.

As a raucous sellout crowd of 11,011 looked on, the Vols managed just 4 first-half field goals while missing all 14 3-point attempts against the Gators, who allowed Kentucky to shoot 58% from the field  — 48% from 3-point range — during a 106-100 loss Saturday.

The defensive effort allowed Florida to overcome a scoreless first half by point guard Walter Clayton Jr., who was coming off a 33-point outing and averaging a team-high 18.3.

The Gators had to earn everything early against Tennessee’s suffocating D, but scraped together a lead with hustle plays, aggressiveness in transition and 3 free throws by Denzel Aberdeen after he was fouled behind the arc.

The Vols didn’t score until Felix Okpara hit a pair of free throws with 13:19 left in the first half made it 12-2. Okpara’s alley-oop and two free throws by Jordan Gainey cut UF’s lead to six. But back-to-back 3s by Aberdeen and Will Richard pushed to advantage to 18-6.

Tennessee (14-1, 1-1) never got closer than 10 points and trailed by as many as 31, at 58-27 with 7:34 remaining.

SEC-leading scorer Chaz Lanier managed just 2 points during the first half but hit a 3 early in the second half after starting 1 of 10 from the field. Clayton, though, immediately answered with a 3 and his first points.

With their offensive leader off his game, plenty of Gators picked up the slack.

FAU transfer Alijah Martin had a team-high 18 points, Aberdeen, a junior and former Dr. Phillips standout, finished with a season-high 16 points, senior sophomore power forward Alex Condon had 12 points and 12 rebounds and sophomore center Rueben Chinyelu had a career-high 15 rebounds.

The Gators, who were 2.5-point favorites, moved to 3-17 all-time vs. the AP No. 1 team, picking up their first win since the 2007 national title game against Ohio State.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins have been NFL outliers the past few years, and proud of it, nonconformists who leant into their progressive ways. Coaches called players, “teammates.” Players got paid who didn’t need new contracts. They worked less rather than more in a culture of equanimity and kumbaya togetherness.

The result was this dud of a season. But still Tuesday, in an annual post-mortem talk to media, general manager Chris Grier referred this team that became troubled by unprofessional edges all the way to captain Tyreek Hill quitting on them in the finale, as a, “player-driven team.”

Does that explain the problem? And show what has to change?

It’s not just this team that should get called, “soft,” as various Dolphins who lived in the locker room have labeled it over the past year. It’s those running the team, first and foremost.

It’s not just players who need to be called out for being late to meetings in a symptom of larger problems inside a team.

It’s Grier and coach Mike McDaniel who should be called out first for allowing such nonsense to happen.

Grier is a double offender at this, too. He was general manager when player tardiness in the Adam Gase years became such a problem the offending players’ names were written on the locker-room whiteboard next to the fined dollar amount to embarrass them. We, the media, wrote down the names.

That didn’t correct the problem. Nor did this current Dolphins new-age culture prevent it from happening again. It became such an issue McDaniel addressed it in his postseason meeting, saying players would have to be on time next season.

But how did he let it happen this season?

“One thing I did learn during the course of the season is that fining guys … didn’t particularly move the needle in the way we need to so I’ll adjust as I should as the head coach,’’ McDaniel said.

He could have asked Gase. Or Grier. It’s nice to say you are a “player-driven team,” because that’s the goal. Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice says he sometimes stands behind the bench at games and doesn’t have to talk to players because they’re saying all the right things themselves. They’re two-time Stanley Cup finalists with a title, too.

These Dolphins have won nothing. Why should the players be given keys of the franchise? People talk of “culture” in sports, but often have no idea what it means. This is it. Something as little as the coach letting players be late for meetings is a porthole into a team’s professionalism and attention to detail that shows up (or not) in games.

The quest for excellence, you see, is found in things big and small. I once asked NBA veteran Shane Battier what “Heat Culture” meant to him.

“If practice starts at noon, everyone’s standing on the line with knee braces on and shoes laced, ready to go, at 11:59,” he said.

Doesn’t that happen everywhere — these are pros, after all?

He laughed. “Usually, at the start of most teams’ practices, guys are shooting half-court shots, running around, not really ready. Here, there’s a culture of discipline.”

Chris Perkins: Dolphins need major culture change in their locker room

Can the Dolphins transform overnight into that kind of culture in Year Four of McDaniel and Year Seven of Grier? That’s the first step to success in 2025.

Sure, there are more tangible issues waiting this offseason: How to invest in a backup quarterback? Why spend $60 million on two receivers if you can’t consistently get them the ball? Where to get two starting safeties and guards?

For the previous two seasons, this going-away news conference with Grier and McDaniel leaned on injuries as crushing their chances. That excuse is always there (except for the No. 1 seed this season, the Detroit Lions, with 12 defensive players on injured reserve).

Grier went there only as an aside this time in mentioning Tua Tagovailoa’s six games lost to injury and …

“We missed the playoffs by a game,” he said.

Tua has missed four, four, zero and six games to injury the past four seasons. Which one is the outlier? And why didn’t the general manager have a capable backup quarterback?

Dolphins Deep Dive: Perkins, Furones on Tyreek’s future in Miami; offseason priorities | VIDEO

“We were in on a number of top-flight back-up quarterbacks,” Grier said. “We just couldn’t go to those prices.”

Not good enough. Not in the big leagues. Not when you have a glaring health concern at the most important position and let it dig a hole for your season. Maybe that kind of talk works with owner Steve Ross, but not in the public forum.

All these personnel questions will be resolved in a manner everyone will see in coming months. The culture fix is tougher to see, though. Most teams talk about what great leadership and hard workers they have, and the Dolphins were no different right up to the first day after the season.

The bottom line is they were soft. And it started right at the top. Grier and McDaniel get another season to correct some fundamental problems from the backup quarterback position to players showing up on time.

After Gase’s teams were perpetual tardy, Brian Flores took over and that problem disappeared. That’s what the force of personality at the top can do. It’s time for McDaniel to get that result.

Last year, McDaniel said he set meetings to start on the 24th minute to signify 24 years without a playoff win. They can start at an even 25th minute now. Being on time is a first step on the road back.