LOOK: Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix fires back at Sean Payton during heated exchange in Week 5 rout of Raiders

Nix appears quite comfortable going back and forth

Just because a team is winning doesn't mean it's always on the same page. Such was the case of the Denver Broncos on Sunday, with rookie quarterback Bo Nix seen in a heated sideline exchange with head coach Sean Payton while his team led the rival Las Vegas Raiders late in the third quarter.

Payton appeared to speak first in the back-and-forth, with Nix becoming increasingly expressive as he fired back. Their remarks came immediately following a Broncos drive that nearly ended with a touchdown, but instead ended with a punt, giving Las Vegas and newly elevated quarterback Aidan O'Connell a chance to pull within one score ahead of the fourth and final quarter.

Nix, however, was seen laughing with teammates shortly afterward, and Payton proceeded to return to the headset as per usual. It's a sign that, while frustrated, the two sides may well have gotten in lockstep regarding whatever spawned the conversation in the first place. The scoreboard quickly suggested as much, too, with Nix and the Broncos proceeding to go up 34-10 on Las Vegas by the middle of the fourth.

"It's part of the deal," Payton said when asked about the exchange after the game. "There's still a little bit of Ferris Bueller in this player that we gotta get rid of. Alright? I'm talking about Bo. And I love him to death. ... Ferris is kinda quirky, doing his own thing once in a while. ... He's still got a little Ferris Bueller in him. ... There are times where you send [a play] in, and I don't want it flipped, and it gets flipped and -- it's all good. He works his tail off. And I am that way. It just is what it is. That's it."

Nix also downplayed the spat, joking with reporters after the win.

"Well, he turned and looked at me and said, 'I love you,' and I turned and said, 'I love you' back," Nix said, before clarifying the miscommunication. "It was a simple play. We had it flipped. He wanted it to the boundary. And we just kinda got confused there in the huddle. And so I tried to get things right. We ended up having it, had a chance, and I overthrew it. But that's part of the game sometimes. ... That's how it is with the play clock moving, you just make the most of it. And fortunately, it didn't bite us [in the end]."