The Broncos came out of Week 1 with plenty to clean up, and Bo Nix didn’t try to dress it up. After Denver’s 31-10 loss to the Chiefs, the rookie quarterback pointed straight at the self-inflicted damage that put his team behind the eight ball.
“When you give a good team a lot of chances, short fields and long yardage situations on third downs, a good team like that is going to exploit it,” Nix said, via BroncosWire. “We had way too many penalties, way too many negative plays, turnovers, putting our defense in bad spots. From a whole offense, team, we just didn’t play very good.”
Nix said the performance was on the entire offense, but he also made it clear he expects the locker room to respond.
“We know we have to be better,” Nix said. “There are a lot of guys in that locker room that are going to take ownership and be better.
It starts with me, and it starts with our offense. We’re going to be better.
We don’t have a choice but to get better. It was a nasty wake-up call today.”
Kansas City, meanwhile, got a sharp outing from Travis Kelce in the win. The Chiefs tight end finished with three catches for 71 yards, highlighted by a 59-yard catch-and-run. Andy Reid didn’t waste time brushing off the kind of offseason skepticism that had followed Kelce into the year.
“Kelce, he dusted it off, right? Three for 71 yards. Pretty good for an old man that people look crosseyed at,” Reid said, via PFT.
Reid also provided a few updates on the injury front. CB Mansoor Delane (shoulder) practiced on Wednesday, per Matt Derrick. LB Cooper McDonald (knee) is headed to injured reserve, while LT Josh Simmons (back) and S Chamarri Conner (knee) did not practice on Wednesday.
In Las Vegas, the focus remains on Brock Bowers and whether the tight end can get back on the field in Week 2. Raiders OC Klint Kubiak said Bowers is pushing hard to return.
“He’s working his tail off to get back out on the field…It’s really important to him to play as soon as possible.”
Kubiak also stressed that the Raiders aren’t going to force the issue.
“We’re going to listen to Alex Guerrero and the trainers and the experts and follow their advice…We’re gonna be smart with him, but if he’s ready to play, he’s gonna play.” (Warren)
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the latest Bowers would be back is Week 4 against the Chiefs, though there’s a good chance it happens sooner.
The Raiders also locked in Michael Mayer on a three-year, $45 million contract extension that includes an $8 million signing bonus and $30 million guaranteed. The deal gives Mayer a guaranteed salary of $11 million in 2027, with non-guaranteed salaries of $11.735 million in 2028 and $12.105 million in 2029.
He can also earn up to $680,000 in per-game roster bonuses. (OverTheCap)
In Other News...
Sean Payton Tries To Shut Down Strange Broncos Drew Brees Speculation
When Bo Nix went down in the AFC Championship game, the Broncos were already dealing with the kind of quarterback uncertainty that can turn even the strangest rumor into something that gets legs fast. That was the backdrop for the chatter tying Drew Brees to Denver, a story that made sense only in the broadest, most desperate sense: a retired franchise icon with deep ties to Sean Payton and a team suddenly looking for answers on the biggest stage.
Payton moved to cool it off quickly, saying Brees had reached out to former Broncos assistants Pete Carmichael and Joe Lombardi, but the idea never made its way to him directly and never moved beyond that. Even so, the mere existence of the conversation raises a separate concern because Brees remains on the Saints' reserve retired list, which puts any flirtation with a comeback in a very delicate spot under NFL tampering rules. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Defense Has A Week 2 Problem Fans Can't Ignore
The Broncos loss to Kansas City wasnt just about missed chances on offense or a few breakdowns here and there on defense. It was the tackling. Denver missed 29.8 percent of its tackles in the defeat, the worst tackling rate in an NFL game since 2018, and the issue showed up all over the field as the Chiefs kept turning routine plays into extended gains.
Several Broncos, including Talanoa Hufanga and Justin Strnad, acknowledged the problem afterward, and the fix sounds straightforward enough in theory: more tackling work before the next game. Still, the damage was obvious against Kansas City, especially with Walker piling up 144 yards after contact, a reminder that Denvers defensive front and second level will be under scrutiny until it proves the missed tackles were a one-game collapse rather than a pattern. [Read more 🡒]
Mahomes Just Added Another Worry For Broncos Fans
Patrick Mahomes was back in uniform for Kansas City on Sunday, nine months after surgery to repair a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee, and the Broncos saw plenty of the version of him they have spent years trying to slow down. He scored on a rushing touchdown and helped the Chiefs roll past Denver 31-10, a reminder that even after a major knee injury, Mahomes can still change a game with his legs as well as his arm.
For Broncos fans, the postgame tone probably offered the most unsettling part of all. Mahomes said he felt good after returning, while also admitting there was some nervousness about taking another hit to the leg, which is exactly the kind of concern Denver would rather not hear as the rivalry moves forward. [Read more 🡒]