The Broncos got the kind of win they had to collect on Sunday, but the offense still looked awfully familiar even with Sean Payton back on play-calling duty.
Denver beat the Los Angeles Chargers 23-17, yet the box score offered little reason to celebrate the direction of the offense. The Broncos finished with 224 net yards, their second-lowest total of the season, and went just 1-of-12 on third down. Bo Nix threw for only 123 yards, which marked the second-lowest passing total of his career.
That keeps Denver stuck near the bottom of the league in the categories that matter most. Jeff Legwold of ESPN noted the Broncos entered the game ranked 27th in scoring, 27th in total yards per game and 29th in rushing yards per game.
Payton’s return to calling plays did bring a slightly different feel. Denver ran the ball 29 times and threw it 27 times, giving the offense more balance than it had shown before. But balance did not equal production, and in the end this was a game the Broncos won because their defense kept handing them chances.
The Denver defense repeatedly set the offense up on the Los Angeles side of the field by forcing turnovers against a Chargers team more than willing to cooperate. Payton called those four takeaways big game-changers and described them as “small steps.”
He also said he needed to be better “relative to the protection.” That comment left plenty of room for interpretation, especially with the play-calling spotlight now sitting between Payton and offensive coordinator Davis Webb.
The more blunt read is that this was still mostly a Chargers loss. Los Angeles gave the game away, and Denver needed time before it finally took full advantage of the gifts that swung the result.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh helped the Broncos’ cause too. He chose to go for it on fourth down in his own territory at times when the risk outweighed the reward, adding more trouble to an offense that was already struggling.
Where Denver goes from here is harder to pin down, but the schedule may help shape the next answer. The Broncos host the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night, and those games have a way of turning messy fast.
In Other News...
Bo Nix Has Become The Broncos Biggest Offensive Concern
Bo Nixs uneven start has become one of the more important subplots inside Denvers 3-2 opening, because the Broncos have managed to stay afloat even as the offense has searched for a steadier rhythm. Coming off the injury that ended his previous playoff run, Nix has not looked quite like the same confident quarterback, and the early weeks have shown a version of Denvers offense that has been more hesitant than explosive.
The issue has shown up in more than one way, from Nix pulling back on downfield throws to a ground game that has not given the Broncos the kind of added dimension they had before. Sean Payton has made it clear he wants the quarterback to play with more conviction, and the next stretch figures to say a lot about whether Denver can get Nix back to the aggressive style that once made the offense feel far more dangerous. [Read more 🡒]
Sean Payton Just Turned Bo Nix Into A Bigger Broncos Debate
The Broncos left Week 5 at 3-2 after a strong fourth quarter helped carry them to a win, but the mood around the offense still feels unfinished. Sean Payton has liked enough to keep this group moving in the right direction, yet the conversation around Bo Nix keeps circling back to how much more there is for the passing game to unlock.
Payton wants the rookie quarterback to be more aggressive pushing the ball downfield, and that idea lands right in the middle of the biggest debate around Denvers offense. Nix has shown the ability to keep drives afloat, but his tendency to settle for safer throws has some wondering whether the Broncos can become truly explosive unless he starts testing deeper coverage more often. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Escaped The Chargers But Their Offense Looks Like A Real Problem
Denver escaped with a 23-17 win over the Chargers, and the defense did the heavy lifting from start to finish. The Broncos kept Justin Herbert under control, bottled up Los Angeles on the ground and flipped the game with a turnover sequence that set up short fields and kept Denver in front despite an offense that spent too much of the afternoon going nowhere.
The part that should linger for Sean Payton and the Broncos is how little they did with the chances handed to them. Even after repeatedly getting the ball in favorable territory late, Denver managed only 13 points on four fourth-quarter possessions that began inside the Chargers 40-yard line or at the 41, and there were still multiple three-and-outs mixed into a day that should have looked cleaner. A win is a win, especially in division play, but this one left the feeling that the margin for error on offense is thinner than it ought to be. [Read more 🡒]