After a promising preseason, the Denver Broncos started off their 2024 campaign with heartbreaking 26-20 loss on the road to the Seattle Seahawks.
There are very few positive things to say relative today’s game. The Broncos were their own worst enemies. Moreover, the offense couldn’t capitalize on all the opportunities their defense and special teams gave them.
Here are a handful of instant reactions from this afternoon’s game.
Bo Nix was horrendous on the road in National Football League debut
Seahawks Head Coach Mike Macdonald commanded a Baltimore Ravens defense in 2023 that was the best in the National Football League. Known for his exotic blitzes and coverage mixes, things weren’t going to be east for Nix in his first regular season start. Especially on the road in a hostile environment. If you caught C.J. Stroud’s first game against the Ravens’ defense, you already knew it would be a tough row for Bo to hoe.
In the first half, Nix struggled immensely. He had a horrific interception staring down Courtland Sutton and was routinely throwing off platform and well behind his receivers. Several throws over the middle of the field could have easily been interceptions. Nix was 12-of-22 for 67 yards and an interception through two quarters. However, a 28-yard strike to Josh Reynolds allowed them to secure a field goal via Wil Lutz at the end of the second quarter. That was arguably his best play of the entire game.
The offense couldn’t get anything started in the second half. A dink-and-dunk offense featuring very little zone coverage beaters effectively euthanized the Broncos’ offensive efforts. By the start of the fourth quarter, Denver had only two first downs through the air. That’s Tim Tebow levels of atrocious. It was an absolute disaster.
Nix ended today’s game going 26-of-42 for 138 yards and 2 interceptions. The team only converted 27-percent of their third downs. For whatever it’s worth, I’m not sure why Head Coach Sean Payton opted to have Nix throw the ball so much in his first start. Routinely having a rookie quarterback be in third-and-long situations did him no favors. I expected Payton’s play calling to be much different moving forward. The Broncos simply can’t be throwing the ball this much.
After an impressive start, the wheels fell of the Broncos’ defense in the second half
The franchise made multiple moves this offseason to bolster their defensive front seven. Those acquisitions looked as if they were going to pay big dividends this afternoon. Thanks in part to two terrific special teams plays, the Broncos were able to secure two safeties against the Seahawks in the first half.
John Franklin-Myers, Zach Allen, D.J. Jones, and the rest of the trench players were routinely getting into the Seahawks’ backfield. Denver’s core of edge rushers spearheaded by Jonathon Cooper and Baron Browning actively harassed Geno Smith in the pocket and made him pay dearly. It was an incredible first half performance by the unit and the major reason why they were competitive in today’s game.
But unfortunately, the Broncos’ inability to move the ball on offense led to a tired defense that was worn out by Kenneth Walker II and the Seahawks’ rushing attack. Alex Singleton had a rough go of it missing several tackles that led to big runs and conversions for Seattle’s offense. On top of that, he was also beat by Zach Charbonnet for a touchdown with a blown coverage.
For many seasons now, the Broncos’ defense started games off strong. Unfortunately, they waned in the second half due to the offense not being efficient at all. If Denver isn’t able to figure out things quickly on offense, this could quickly become a long season for fans that were filled with optimism heading into today’s game.
When will the Broncos finally learn how to run an effective screen play?
One of the most basic plays teams try to establish to run effectively are screen plays. The Broncos tried a lot of them today, but just like last year, weren’t able to produce on them. Most all of them resulted in little positive yardage. In fact, many of them went for negative yards.
Even worse, a swing pass to Jaleel McLaughlin on a drive in the third quarter resulted in a fumble and turnover that led to points for the Seahawks. It’s almost unfathomable how bad Denver has been with them during the Payton Era. His teams in New Orleans were routinely one of the best in the league in this regard. But here? It’s like running a screen effectively is an impossible endeavor.
The Broncos were their own worst enemies today. If they can’t even learn how to run a simple screen they are in big trouble. Let’s hope they can actually figure it out next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers who have T.J. Watt and a stout defensive front seven.
