The Denver Broncos were able to get out of SoFi Stadium with a win on Sunday over the Los Angeles Chargers, but it wasn't pretty. Despite a victory and a 3-2 record now, we must discuss the elephant in the room.
Head coach Sean Payton decided to take back the play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Davis Webb after just four games. Payton was hoping that would create an offensive spark. After one game, there wasn't even a hint of a spark.
Did even one thing look different about this offense on Sunday? The Broncos still struggled to run the ball, still struggled to extend drives and until late in the fourth quarter, still struggled to put points on the board. The Broncos had another fourth-quarter surge, scoring 13 points in the final frame
to outlast a Chargers team that was missing several key pieces on each side of the ball.
Sean Payton gets the win in his first game after taking over play-calling from Davis Webb. Here's how the offense performed:
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) October 11, 2026
- 23 points
- 224 total yards (Chargers some how actually had 237)
- 1/12 on third down
- 3.9 yards per play
- 118 yards passing (4.2 YPP)
- 106 yards…
But the biggest problem with this offense has nothing to do with who is calling the plays.
Bo Nix is Broncos' biggest offensive issue
Payton called plays for the Broncos to be successful in this game. However, Webb was calling the right plays, too. The issue is that Bo Nix is just not making the right reads and is way too hesitant to get rid of the ball. That is leading to the Broncos leaving a lot of plays on the field.
Ben Solak, an analyst at ESPN, did a fantastic job of breaking it down right here:
Different play caller, same result for the Broncos pic.twitter.com/nQINH0eaDF
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) October 12, 2026
As long as this is the case, it won't matter who the playcaller is, regardless of Payton being an offensive genius, which, at this point, is debatable. Nix is missing guys who are wide open and, as many fans have commented this season, seems much more hesitant to use his feet to gain extra yardage, which could be an effect of breaking his ankle last season (although Nix says he is healthy and not hindered).
The numbers provided by James Palmer above illustrate an offense that isn't going to put fear into any team in the league. There were times during Sunday's game when getting a first down seemed unlikely for the Broncos, let alone getting any points.
But as with most things in the NFL, it all falls on the quarterback. Nix has to play much better, quickly.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Sean Payton taking over play-calling didn’t change much for Broncos
