In a word, the Denver Broncos' offense this year has been, kindly put, uninspiring.
If we're not dressing our words up with politeness, Denver's attack has been downright scary. And not in a good way. Through four games, the Broncos are at or near the bottom of most relevant offense statistics, including total yards (27th), scoring (27th), expected points added (EPA) per play (21st), points per drive (22nd), and explosive play rate (20th). Bo Nix has regressed to his old Oregon days, a.k.a. he's clearly afraid to even try to throw the ball downfield from a stable pocket. First-year play-caller Davis Webb has let his offense grow stale, predictable, and completely non-threatening.
Put another way: The Broncos have one of the most predictable offenses
in pro football. They're not hard to gameplan for. Slant. Flats. Stretch zone run. (And if they get this far on a possession, which they usually don't) Slant again. Flats again. A middle-of-the-field intermediate throw that Nix turns down. Rinse and repeat.
Head coach Sean Payton has seen enough. After giving Webb an ample runway to work through the kinks, Payton knows the 2-2 middling Broncos don't have much time anymore to figure things out. One of the greatest offensive minds of his generation is officially taking back the reins of Denver's play-calling because he knows he's the only person who can make Nix look like a somewhat functional quarterback who isn't afraid to do his job again.
And he's absolutely correct. He's one of the few men for such a daunting job:
With the offense struggling and the Seahawks looming in seven days, Sean Payton will be calling the plays again on Sunday against the Chargers. https://t.co/Gxho8YRSUf
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 8, 2026
The positive development behind Payton calling the Broncos' offensive plays again is that he knows what Nix does well. He will give him a solid foundation to work from, allowing the quarterback to look more comfortable compared to the old jittery version we've seen over a month of play in 2026. If the Broncos and Nix need anything, it's more offensive consistency and more stability overall. Expect to see lots of bootlegs and half-field reads. Expect to see the Broncos make more of a concerted effort to run the ball at a healthy clip.
The negative development is that many would characterize such a safe offensive scheme as giving the quarterback "training wheels." The whole point behind letting Webb call plays initially was to let Nix spread his wings. That has, quite obviously, been a disaster. Payton is making the astute calculation that Nix can't handle such responsibilities on his own, but can run things at a generally fine level with a more experienced play-caller pulling his strings.
Will that be enough to elevate the Broncos back into a contender with Super Bowl bona fides? Uh ... maybe? What does it mean that a quarterback who will be 27 years old in February still can't be trusted to swim in the deep end without floaty wings and a watching lifeguard waiting for him to drop his head underwater for a solitary second? Certainly nothing good. This dynamic is guaranteed to complicate upcoming awkward contract extension talks with Nix this summer.
Those are questions and problems for the future Broncos to consider, however. Right now, for a team many expected to be in the Lombardi Trophy mix in the preseason, their offense isn't nearly good enough to even give them a chance to win week to week. To be sure, this is how Denver should be tackling its broken attack. Weekly, at an incremental pace, trusting that progress will manifest. Eventually. Hopefully.
Payton is doing the right thing. He's rescuing the Broncos offense and Nix from themselves before it's too late.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Sean Payton correctly believes he’s only one who can save Bo Nix's season
