The Denver Broncos‘ highly anticipated home opener at Empower Field at Mile High was spoiled by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in an embarrassing 13-6 loss. Through two weeks, first-round quarterback and team captain Bo Nix has thrown four interceptions with a 59.7 completion percentage and is still searching for his first regular-season passing touchdown.
While Nix is at the helm of a highly dysfunctional and chaotic offense, Broncos head coach Sean Payton’s offensive play-calling has significantly failed his rookie starter, resulting in abysmal production from the running game. Consecutive defeats at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks and Steelers have revealed a worst-case scenario just two weeks into the 2024 regular season as the Broncos play their next two games on the road.
Week 1’s 26-20 loss to the Seahawks was chalked up to the first game being in a hostile Lumen Field environment that would be hard for even the most grizzled veteran quarterback to win a game, let alone a rookie. But when the same mistakes reared their ugly heads for a second-straight game without much adjustment or correction to play-calling, Broncos Country can’t help but wonder why Payton’s offense can’t run the football.
It’s hard to lay Denver’s most recent loss on starting running back Javonte Williams, who garnered approximately 66% of the team’s offensive snaps. Despite being Denver’s leading rusher with a pathetic 17 yards on 11 attempts (1.5 avg) with a long rush of just five, Williams was the only Broncos receiver to catch every pass thrown his way, finishing with five receptions for 48 yards, averaging 9.6 yards per reception.
The Steelers defense smothered Williams and the Broncos. Payton’s offense logged 13 total first downs, went scoreless in the red zone (0-3), and converted a measly 2-of-12 third-down attempts. After the game, Williams had a simple reason for Denver’s inability to create rushing production and offered an optimistic message.
“It’s the NFL. They have T.J.Watt, Alex Highsmith, Patrick Queen, great players on defense,” Williams explained after Sunday’s loss. “I’m not worried about the offense or the team at all. It’s a long season, and we’re going to get it right.”
While I can appreciate Williams’ optimism, I’m unsure where it’s coming from. Payton’s handpicked running back stable continues to flounder and be underutilized.
Rookie Audric Estime was placed on injured reserve last week, so the team elevated Tyler Badie from the practice squad to the active roster, which earned him one rush for 16 yards against the Steelers (a team-high long). Meanwhile, third-down back Jaleel McLaughlin was largely nonexistent in Payton’s offense, rushing three times for six yards without receiving a single target in the passing game.
When I say not much has changed in Payton’s offense from week to week, look no further than the box score. You don’t have to be a film geek to see the same thing in back-to-back games.
In Week 1’s loss, McLaughlin led the team with 10 rushing attempts compared to Williams’ team-high 11 rushes in Week 2. Even Nix’s rushing yardage was mirrored as the rookie rushed five times for 35 yards and a touchdown in Seattle, compared to four times for 25 yards in Week 2.
In two games combined, Williams and McLaughlin have carried the football 32 times for just 73 yards, yielding a 2.3 yards-per-carry average. So, while Williams is trying to stay upbeat and positive about this offense, I’ll reserve my optimism for when I see Payton commit to running the ball at least 15 times with any individual running back.
Make no mistake about it: I had an absolute blast with Broncos Country at the 2024 Mile High Huddle Meet and Greet as we celebrated the fall season and the return of football to Denver. However, there was nothing fun about seeing fans leave the home opener early, nor was it comfortable to walk out of the stadium with Steelers Nation waving those ‘Terrible Towels’ in my face.
To be clear, I’m a Payton guy. He was my No. 1 candidate for the Broncos’ head-coaching vacancy 18 months ago, and I was adamant that Denver did the right thing in trading with the New Orleans Saints to acquire his rights. I supported Payton’s decision to bench Russell Wilson in 2023 and his costly release in March, and I even got aboard the Nix train when he was drafted in April.
I’ve been critical of Payton’s in-game decisions, including clock management, and his hiring of defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, whose unit is the only strength of this football team two weeks into the regular season. But how Payton is calling the Broncos offense is unexplainable.
Fans and media members agree that it feels as if the former Super Bowl-winning head coach is trying to redesign the offensive wheel and outsmart everyone rather than stick to the fundamental principles of football, like running the ball consistently with your RB1.
Payton was asked on Monday what his team needs to do to get Williams going in the offense.
“Let’s start with design and scheme, and then let’s get into some execution,” Payton said via conference call. “I just finished looking at a play that he gained three yards, and it really should be a gain of seven yards. How are we blocking the backside of this? Do we need to clean that up? He misses a cut or two in the game. We need to make sure we get his eyes where they need to be.”
It’s pretty clear that Nix is not yet Drew Brees, but Payton has schemed him into throwing the football 77 times in his first two professional games, resulting in four interceptions, zero passing scores, and two straight losses. Monday’s news that Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey will miss approximately four weeks with an MCL injury won’t make things any easier for Nix, in addition to left tackle Garett Bolles and center Luke Wattenberg being on the Broncos’ injury report last week.
It’s now even more imperative that Payton place his ego aside and conform to a fundamental, functional running attack on a weekly basis. It’s the type of offense that moves the chains bit by bit, and even though it often leads to field goals, it minimizes turnovers.
If Payton doesn’t commit to the ground game, Broncos fans should prepare for a multitude of losses and an injured quarterback who could end up suffering from confidence issues. Last week, fans were assured the running game would be a priority, and that things would be fixed, yet here we are entering Week 3, wondering when and whether this offense will improve.
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