The Denver Broncos came out with Super Bowl expectations for the 2026 season, and instead of hitting the gas, promptly pulled the emergency brake in their anticipated opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday.
In a 31-10 beatdown loss at the hands of the Chiefs, the Broncos looked lost in nearly every aspect. From offensive ineptitude to defensive meltdowns, the Broncos cratered back down to earth. We take a look at the few bright spots and many duds from the loss.
Stud: RJ Harvey
Harvey had the most total touches of any Bronco on Monday night. Two rushes, three catches, and four kickoff returns for 151 combined yards was the best performance of any player on the night. He was a bit of a bright spot on an otherwise terrible night for Denver.
Dud: Missed tackles
The Broncos'
defense missed so many tackles. All those tackles sprung big plays for the Chiefs. The vaunted Broncos defense from 2025 had a terrible showing by Vance Joseph's unit. It was nonstop. From missed tackles on a big pass play from Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce to two missed tackles on Kenneth Walker's 60-yard touchdown run, the Denver defense put up perhaps its worst showing since 70-20.
However bad you thought the Broncos' tackling was against the Chiefs, it was even worse
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) September 15, 2026
Denver's 248 missed tackle yards allowed were the most in a single game in @NextGenStats' database. Their 29.8% missed tackle percentage is the third worst single-game score since 2018 https://t.co/Kd0zQjfUFl
Stud: Marvin Mims
With two punt returns for 36 yards, Marvin Mims is now the proud owner of the highest punt return average in NFL history (15.8+ YPR). Mims was evaluated early with a hip injury, but returned to the game and secured the record.
Dud: Bo Nix
We hardly see Bo Nix as a complete dud, but the third-year quarterback had a really bad game. Nix threw a bad interception on the first drive, and things were looking up after Nix threw a touchdown to Evan Engram. But after that, it was all downhill. Nix had three fumbles, losing one of them, and looked tentative as he was continually flushed out of the pocket by an offensive line that was named the best unit in the NFL in preseason analysis. Nix finished 17-of-28 for 131 yards, one touchdown, one interception, three fumbles (one fumble lost) and was sacked four times for 16 yards.
Dud: An all-around clunker
While it may not be time to pull the plug on Davis Webb as offensive coordinator and playcaller, Vance Joseph as a defensive coordinator, or Sean Payton as head coach, the loss highlighted several issues with the Broncos' roster at large, and on-field issues in one of the worst losses since an ugly 70-20 defeat in 2013. This team needs a serious wake-up call, and fast. Things are only going to get harder, and if we see the same Broncos team we did on Monday in the coming weeks, there will be some heads rolling at Dove Valley before the bye.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Studs and duds from Broncos' blowout loss to Chiefs
