The Denver Broncos opened their season with a 20-12 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Empower Field at Mile High.
After trailing 12-10 early in the second half, Denver scored 10 unanswered points to pull away with the late win. The story of the game was the Broncos’ defense, which sacked Titans rookie Cam Ward, the No. 1 pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, six times.
Ward went 12 of 28 with 112 yards and no touchdowns, as the Titans relied on field goals to score throughout the game.
Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s game.
Broncos need better version of Bo Nix
The Broncos will take a Week 1 victory after losing their season-opening games for the last three seasons. If they want to achieve some of the lofty goals they’ve been talking about this offseason, though, they’ll need much better play from their second-year quarterback.
Bo Nix turned the ball over three times Sunday, including the first lost fumble of his NFL career. He also threw two interceptions on passes he had no business trying to thread to his well-blanketed targets. Ward may have made his NFL debut, but it was Nix — who accounted for 34 touchdowns last season and helped lead the Broncos to a playoff berth — who looked more like a rookie Sunday. He rushed throws off platform in ways that harkened back to the early days of last season. He piloted an offense that looked disorganized in stretches. He threw behind receivers in a way that was uncommon last season for Nix, once he found his footing.
This is only the season’s first game. The Broncos were incorporating new pieces and new offensive wrinkles into their maiden offensive voyage in 2025. There is plenty of opportunity for growth ahead. A monster run by rookie running back RJ Harvey to set up a touchdown in the fourth quarter was certainly an encouraging sign about what the running game, critical to Denver’s offensive success this season, can become with more seasoning.
However, the bottom line as the Broncos moved, without apology, to 1-0 is that Denver needs more from Nix.
Denver’s defense swarming
With the Titans threatening to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter, Jonah Elliss stalked Ward as he tried to spin out of trouble, then dropped the quarterback for a 16-yard loss. On the next play, Zach Allen bulldozed through Tennessee’s offensive line to drop Ward 11 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Just like that, Denver’s ferocious defensive front had turned a go-ahead scoring opportunity for the Titans into a punt. It was a microcosm of the performance of a defense that looked every bit as good as advertised in Sunday’s opener, buoyed by a stellar Broncos debut from safety Talanoa Hufanga.
The unit that led the NFL with 63 sacks last season dropped Ward six times in the opener, including one on a third-and-goal play and another that nearly resulted in a safety. The Titans started five drives inside Denver’s territory as a result of either turnovers, including one on downs, or special teams breakdowns. The total Tennessee production on those drives: three field goals and two punts.
The Broncos can’t put their defense in that many compromising situations. Better offenses will find a way to take advantage. On Sunday, though, even an advantageous field position couldn’t save the Titans from Denver’s relentless attack.
Ward shows glimpses of promise in challenging debut
The poise the Titans have raved about with their No. 1 pick was illustrated on the very first pass play of his NFL career. Tennessee faced a third-and-10 at their own 35-yard line, and the crowd at Empower Field was at a fever pitch. However, just as Ward was about to be sacked, he escaped pressure and flipped a pass in the flat to running back Tony Pollard, who turned the play into a 29-yard gain.
Later, in the fourth quarter, Ward hung in against oncoming pressure in the end zone before delivering a first-down throw to Calvin Ridley.
In the biggest spot of the game, though, the pressure finally seemed to overwhelm Ward. The Titans trailed by one and had the ball at Denver’s 23-yard line midway through the fourth quarter after a muffed fair catch by Marvin Mims. On back-to-back pass plays, though, Ward held the ball too long and couldn’t shake the Broncos’ pass rush, resulting in back-to-back sacks that took the Titans outside field goal range.
Ward had another chance to drive for a potential tying score after a failed fourth-down attempt by the Broncos with five minutes left in the game, but his third-down pass for Ridley sailed high, and Tennessee was forced to punt.
The positive for the Titans: The moment rarely looked too big for their rookie quarterback. The Broncos sped him up at times, but he was never rattled. The Titans have a long way to go, but those traits offer a promising start.
(Photo of Nik Bonitto sacking Cam Ward: Tyler Schank / Getty Images)
