Bo Nix didn’t spend Thursday trying to dress up what happened to the Broncos on Monday night. After Denver got rolled 31-10 by the Kansas City Chiefs, the second-year quarterback owned the mess and said the team isn’t about to spiral because of one ugly night.
“We’re not pressing the panic button, we’re not freaking out, we’re not starting from scratch or anything,” Nix said. “We didn’t play great by any means, just got to play better.”
That blunt assessment fit the numbers. Denver gave up 200 rushing yards and missed 19 tackles on defense. On the other side, the offense managed just 176 net yards, and Nix had one of the roughest games of his career.
His night started badly with an interception on his first throw. He was sacked a career-high four times, lost one of three fumbles, and the Broncos couldn’t keep drives alive. Denver went just 2 for 12 on third down and never converted a third down after halftime.
The loss also added another frustrating entry to Nix’s season-opening record. With him at quarterback, Denver is now 0-3 in Week 1, and he has thrown five interceptions and taken eight sacks in those games.
Sean Payton didn’t pin the blame on Nix or on first-time offensive playcaller Davis Webb alone.
“There was dirt on a ton of people’s hands, including me,” Payton said.
Now the Broncos have to reset quickly. Sunday brings the home opener against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that arrives after a 34-10 win over Cleveland.
That’s a problem for a Denver offense that already looked shaky with the ball. Jacksonville finished second in the NFL with 31 takeaways last season and added two more in Week 1.
There is at least one familiar note in the matchup: Nix threw for a career-high 352 yards against the Jaguars last season, even though Denver still lost.
Asked what the Broncos need to do to make Webb’s job easier this time, Nix kept it short.
“Get first downs, score points.”
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