For three and a half quarters, the Denver Broncos offense was asleep at the wheel. If not for the defense, the Tennessee Titans would have dominating the game with four turnovers. The tide seemed to shift when rookie running back RJ Harvey exploded through the line and rumbled for a 50 yard gain. A few plays later JK Dobbins would do the same for a 19-yard touchdown run to put Denver in the lead by eight points.
Add in a defense that held the Titans to 135 total yards and 2.6 yards per play heading
into the Titans final desperate drive, and the Broncos ultimately carried the day. It was not pretty by any means, but they pulled out that all-important win in Week 1.
Broncos vs. Titans final score
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Titans | 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| Denver Broncos | 3 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 20 |
First Quarter
Cam Ward’s NFL debut was a decent one driving his team down the field for the first score of the game. Meanwhile, the Broncos offense came out slinging the football and matched the score early. They were driving again on the next possession, but Bo Nix floated one up to Courtland Sutton that ended up hanging in the air a bit too long for the big turnover.
The sluggish start on offense has been a bit of a hallmark for the Broncos dating back to last season and Week 1 in 2025 was no different.
Broncos 3, Titans 3. Full first quarter recap.
Second Quarter
That bad interception by Nix ended up being just fine as Talanoa Hufanga would force a fumble on the Titans ensuing possession to give the ball right back to Denver early in the second quarter.
Denver’s offense remained out of sync in the first half and did nothing with that turnover. In fact, they would end up turning the ball over again themselves with a strip-sack on Bo Nix late in the half that turned into another field goal for the Titans.
The dysfunction continued until the Titans shot their own foot with a series of questionable decisions under a minute to go in the half. They elected to throw it three straight times and ended up taking a sack at their one foot line to force the punt. On the return, Marvin Mims Jr. set the Broncos up in field goal range, then a few plays later Nix would lob a beautiful pass to Courtland Sutton for the game’s only touchdown of the half.
However, Wil Lutz inexplicably kicked the ball short on the ensuing kickoff and it was returned 71-yards to setup the quick field goal before half for the Titans.
Broncos 10, Titans 9. Full second quarter recap.
Third Quarter
The defensive battle continued to rage into the second half with both teams trading field goals early and Bo Nix adding a third turnover to his stat roll in the game. The teams again traded field goals in the quarter with both defenses completely dominating the other side.
While the Titans lead the turnover battle, the Broncos defense has been able to keep them to field goals only in the game.
Broncos 13, Titans 12. Full third quarter recap.
Fourth Quarter
The game was likely to come down to a bad turnover with both defenses playing so well and that first opportunity struck for Tennessee when Marvin Mims Jr. muffed a punt at the Broncos 24-yard line to give the Titans an easy change to score. After a short run on first down, Jonah Ellis burst through and chased Cam Ward down for a huge 16-yard loss to push the Titans back to the Broncos 38-yard line. Zach Allen then wanted in on the sack party to bring Ward down at midfield for another huge loss for an incredible defensive stand.
With that stand, the Broncos offense needed to make some plays. That came in the form of rookie RJ Harvey who took an inside handoff and broke loose for a huge 50 yard run down to the Titans 30-yard line.
Harvey gained another five yards and a short pass to Courtland Sutton picked up the first down and moved Denver into the red zone with eight minutes left in the game. Then JK Dobbins powered through the line and broke free for a 19-yard touchdown run to put Denver up by eight.
Broncos 20, Titans 12.
The Broncos defense remained unrelenting and quickly had the Titans backed up again and faced a third and 18 after an intentional grounding penalty. The Titans would punt it right back after a three-and-out. After stuffing the Broncos on a fourth and inches on the next drive, though, they would get another shot on the Broncos side of the field. A stuff on first down and two bad throws by Ward ended that opportunity, however.
From their own six yard line, the Broncos committed to the run with a handoff to JK Dobbins who rumbled for 11 yards as the clock ticked under four minutes. A nice screen pass to Troy Franklin picked up another big gain and a 15-yard personal foul was tacked on to bring Denver right back to midfield. The Titans defense played great all game, but it was the Titans defense that lost the game for them with a dumb roughing penalty on a third down stop to give the Broncos another first down into field goal range.
However, instead of kicking a long field goal Sean Payton decided to just go for it and throw a ball up that fell incomplete. A very confusing call. Fortunately, it didn’t burn the Broncos.
Wins do not come easily in the NFL, so we’ll take this one after such a sloppy offensive performance by Denver.
