The Broncos left Week 4 with the same old problems staring them in the face. The start was sluggish.
The offense never found a real rhythm. The run game offered almost nothing.
Penalties kept showing up. Against the 49ers, all of it added up to a loss that felt hard to argue with.
That backdrop makes the Broncos’ biggest losers easy to spot, and the first name belongs to Bo Nix. He has made a habit of digging out of bad situations, especially when the game is on the line, but the early-game issues keep piling up.
Denver’s offense just never gets comfortable, and Nix is stuck operating without much help. The ground game isn’t there.
Throws aren’t being finished cleanly. Receivers are dropping balls, and when Nix does try to push the ball downfield, either the accuracy is off or the opportunities simply aren’t there.
The Broncos don’t have a reliable answer in the passing game, and that leaves Nix carrying too much of the burden.
Davis Webb lands in the same uncomfortable space. Whatever the explanation for the play design or sequencing, the offense is not producing, and somebody has to own that.
It’s fair to wonder whether Sean Payton will eventually pull back play-calling duties from his young offensive coordinator. That was never supposed to be a conversation this soon, but if the offense keeps stumbling, Payton may decide he can’t keep letting Webb absorb the blame.
At the same time, Webb is dealing with a mess of execution problems around him - penalties, drops, losing battles at the line, no yards after contact, and missed throws. It’s a difficult situation for Payton to sort through.
Courtland Sutton is another player who has to sit in the loser column after this one. Through four games of the 2026 season, his play has been far from what the Broncos need.
Against the 49ers, he had multiple moments where he fell down on targets from Nix, and on one play he ran straight into a 49ers defensive back before trying to talk his way into a penalty. The separation just isn’t happening.
Denver also can’t scheme him open because defenses are taking away the deep, in-breaking concepts that are supposed to help create space. Right now, nothing is clicking for Sutton.
On the other side of the ledger, the Broncos did get a few bright spots out of the defeat. Jeremy Crawshaw belongs in that group after a strong punting performance.
He punted five times, and four of them were down inside the 20. One would have been downed at the one-yard line, but Pat Bryant was flagged for illegal touching, which turned it into a touchback.
Even in a rough night, Crawshaw helped Denver by changing field position.
Alex Singleton also stood out. He turned in the kind of game the Broncos have been hoping to see more often, finishing with 14 total tackles, 7 solo, and the team’s only tackle for loss. After a September that didn’t inspire much confidence, this was a better showing from a linebacker Denver chose to keep instead of adding outside help.
Then there’s Zach Allen, who keeps making life miserable for opposing offenses. He recorded three quarterback hits and added a blocked field goal before halftime, giving the Broncos one of their few momentum swings of the night. Allen has been disruptive all season, and against the 49ers he was once again one of the most impactful players on the field.
In Other News...
Broncos Finally Get A Chance To Fix Whats Holding This Offense Back
The Broncos have spent the early part of the season fighting for answers on offense, and now they get a chance to make some progress against a Chargers team dealing with plenty of its own problems. Los Angeles is still looking for its first win, and the issues around Jim Harbaugh, Justin Herbert and new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniels system have made that side of the matchup far from clean. For Denver, it is the kind of opponent that can either provide a reset or expose how much work still remains.
After a stretch against stronger competition, the Broncos should see this as an opportunity to finally settle some of the things that have held the offense back. But a winless team can be a dangerous one if it is treated like a soft landing spot, especially in the AFC West where little margin exists for careless football. Denver does not just need the result, it needs proof that the offense can take advantage when the matchup is there. [Read more 🡒]
Marvin Mims' Costly Mistake Has Broncos Fans Asking About Accountability
Marvin Mims spent the aftermath of a rough outing doing what players are supposed to do after a mistake, even if the admission was uncomfortable. The Broncos wide receiver said he did not go back and review the film on the play where he fumbled, and he went so far as to call it possibly his worst NFL game. For a Denver offense still trying to find cleaner execution, the moment landed as another reminder of how thin the margin can be when a key touch turns into a turnover.
The larger conversation around accountability did not stop with Mims, either. Former Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw took aim at Sean Payton after the game, and Payton did not push back in his postgame availability, instead responding positively to Greenlaws comments. Meanwhile, across the division, Raiders coach Klint Kubiak was already talking about changing the approach around Ashton Jeanty and Mike Washington, a sign that coaches on both sidelines are feeling the pressure to fix problems before they harden. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos May Need One Eagles Move Before The Trade Market Shifts
Philadelphias roster has already started to look different in the wake of the Cam Jurgens trade, and that kind of movement can reshape the market before the rest of the league catches up. The Eagles are dealing with a changing front as well, with Lane Johnson retired and the club sitting at 2-2, which makes any evaluation of their veteran talent more interesting for teams watching for an opening.
From Denvers side, the name worth tracking is Zack Baun, the inside linebacker who has recently earned both Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro recognition. His contract is considered movable, and if the Eagles decide to keep adjusting their roster, the Broncos could make sense as a team ready to act before trade talks around the league shift into a more crowded market. [Read more 🡒]