The Denver Broncos didn’t play their best football game, but it was good enough to win. After four hard fought quarters of play, the Broncos emerged victorious over the Tennessee Titans 20-12. It wasn’t pretty, especially on the offensive side of the ball, but all that matters is Denver has started off the season 1-0. Here are some instant reactions and takeaways from today’s game.
The Broncos’ offense has a lot of work to do
After adding a lot of talent to the offensive side of the ball via free agency
and the NFL Draft, Broncos Country was optimistic this year’s offense would be able to perform with more efficiency than last season. Starting fast off fast has been one a premier mantra from Head Coach Sean Payton all off season. Alas, the Broncos’ offense certainly didn’t do that today.
Whether it was penalties, getting the play in slowly, or turnovers, Denver struggled to be consistent in their first half drives. An ill-advised interception and lost fumble from quarterback Bo Nix headlined their issues in the first 30 minutes of play and kept points off the board. By halftime, the Broncos had passed the ball 22 times and ran only 9 times. That’s too far lopsided for my liking.
Their only saving grace was poor clock management by the Titans which gave them the ball on a short field to end the half. Let’s be real—the Titans really goofed in that situation. But the Broncos were benefactors, and the offense was able to take advantage quickly, as Nix connected with Sutton on a 22-yard touchdown strike to give Denver the lead at the break.
Things didn’t go much better in the second half. Nix racked up another interception on a poor throw into tight coverage. The offensive line also struggled with Jeffrey Simmons and the Titans’ defensive front seven who routinely blew up plates in the backfield. From a play calling perspective, Denver used a lot of naked bootleg and play action looks but weren’t successful on them. Moreover, I felt Nix’s footwork was quite erratic for most of the game.
It’s hard to win football games when you have four turnovers and aren’t able to consistently move the chains. Luckily, Denver was able to secure the win. But for all the optimism fans had entering the season about the growth of Nix and Denver’s offense, today was truly one of the worst-case scenario’s fans could have envisioned to start the season.
While I admit things got better, especially running the ball in the fourth quarter, there is no doubt Denver has a lot of work to do on that side of the ball. Hopefully those improvements come sooner than later. And some of those situational decisions by Payton late in the game? Oof.
Kudos to the defense for keeping the Broncos in the game
While the offense had its issues, I felt for the most part Denver’s defense did tremendous. That sounds familiar, right? Just like last season. Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph had a great gameplan and his players performed at a high level. Their secondary made a lot of plays on the ball, their pass rush got after quarterback Cam Ward with five sacks, and their run defense was stout throughout the course of the game.
If the Broncos’ defense didn’t perform so well, this game could have spiraled out of control due to the issues on offense. Thankfully, Joseph’s group played lights out and were the primary reason the team was able to achieve a victory in the season opener. Sure, it was a rookie quarterback and a Titans’ offense that was dreadful last season, but the defense was firing on all cylinders which was great to see. Just imagine how good they will be when the offense decides to start pulling its own weight.
There are a lot of players on that side of the ball who deserve a lot of praise. In fact, several of them will certainly be getting game balls from our staff. Though one player I thought excelled was safety Talanoa Hufanga. Already voted a team captain by his players in his first season with the Broncos, the savvy veteran had himself quite the debut donning the orange and blue. Wherever the ball went, Hufanga followed. He finished his first game with the Broncos with 10 tackles and a forced fumble.
Other thoughts and musings:
- One of the X-Factor players I had for the Titans in today’s game was defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons. The Pro-Bowl defender had himself quite the day and was disruptive against the pass and the run. The Broncos offensive line struggled to negate his impact. Simmons finished with 4 tackles, 1 sack, 4 quarterback hits, and a forced fumble.
- Deactivating Jaleel McLaughlin for today’s game to give Tyler Badie more of an opportunity seemed like a headscratcher. Badie has flashed over the preseason for the Broncos but was generally a non-factor in this game and had several drops as a receiver.
- With Dre Greenlaw sidelined due to injury, veteran Justin Strnad found himself starting again. He had a productive game making plays against the run, as a blitzer, and even being sound in coverage. If Greenlaw misses more time, Denver’s defense should be just fine if Strnad continues to execute.
- Jeremy Crashaw struggled in the preseason but had a great NFL debut punting the ball. All three of his punts pinned the Titans within their own ten-yard line. Hats off to the rookie for doing a great job today. He was a difference maker in the field position battled when called upon.
