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Broncos Must Establish Their Offense to Overcome Colts

Originally posted on The Lead | By Tobias Swiney | Last updated Sep 14, 2025 4:03 PM ET

The Denver Broncos defeated the Tennessee Titans 20-12 last Sunday afternoon.

High-flying action, a well-oiled offensive machine, and countless touchdowns were everything this game anticipated, yet failed to deliver miserably.

Coaching Was An Issue

The first kick sailed through the air as the crowd nervously watched the 2025 season begin, and things immediately fell apart for the Broncos.

Initially, it appeared to be just first-game jitters that quickly escalated into full-blown sloppiness. Poor lineups, receivers questioning what route was active, and a lack of play clock management brewed immediate frustration. For a team with a Super Bowl-level coaching staff, this looked like a poorly run D3 college team playing against Ohio State.

Despite their incredible defense bailing them out, it gets worse for the Broncos.

Bo Nix Needs to Step Up

After an incredible rookie season, hopes were soaring for Year 2 of the Bo Nix-run Broncos.

Despite the hype surrounding him, Nix had one of the worst QBR ratings in the league, with a 26.2, which ranked in the bottom four alongside Bryce Young, Cam Ward, and Tua Tagovailoa.

Throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble, Nix looked flustered, rushed, and panicked. If it wasn’t a short pass off to J.K. Dobbins or R.J. Harvey, fans held their breath. In spite of this, he threw for 176 yards and one touchdown, on 25 of 40 attempts. Take the turnovers out of the equation, and you would consider that a decent performance. However, with an average of 4.4 yards per pass, most of his completions came from short routes, late tight end escapes, or simple throws to his running backs in the flat.

Nix must find his magic from last season, or the Colts will make an example of this young QB.

Another look at the Bo Nix fumble #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/Jl7OsrFtgJ

— Denver Sports 104.3 (@DenSports1043) September 7, 2025

Pacing

The Broncos’ defense showed no signs of letting off the pedal.

Solid, consistent, unrelenting. Their offense— a complete coin flip. Lacking rhythm, a sense of completeness and a goal were blatantly lacking in this sputtering offense. When they had chances to go fast, they went painstakingly slow. When they needed to pace their plays, they ran hurry-up formations to run their QB to the left— a lot.

(Genuinely, this is a right-handed QB— why did they run him left so much?)

You can blame Sean Payton, but this felt more like a collective lack of discipline for everyone on the offensive side of the ball. The Colts, meanwhile, felt and looked like a well-coached, well-run team on both sides of the football. More veterans, fewer rookie mistakes than the Titans, and a veteran QB that looks like a new version of himself in his newfound team.

The Colts are a force to be reckoned with, and the Broncos will have their work cut out for them in this AFC clash.

This article first appeared on The Lead and was syndicated with permission.

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