Broncos' victory overshadowed by unfortunate injury plus other key takeaways from Week 1 win vs. Tennessee Titans

Broncos Country was out in full force, with jets flying over the stadium and the Thunderstorm skydiving onto the field — it was more than a little electric. Not only that, but Peyton Manning had the fan base ready to run through a brick wall.

Manning popped up in a video asking the fans to be loud early and often, not just on third downs. It was clear that they were trying to make life difficult for No. 1 overall pick, Cam Ward, and that's exactly what they did.

The Denver Broncos' defense started hot in Week 1 vs. the Titans

Death, taxes, and the Denver Broncos getting sacks. It was a tough day at the office for Ward, who finished 12-of-28 passing for 112 yards and no touchdowns in his debut. He was sacked six times with Justin Strnad, Nik Bonitto, Jonah Elliss, Jonathon Cooper, Ja'Quan McMillian, and Zach Allen each recording one. Denver led the league in this department in 2024, bringing the quarterback down 63 times, which was a new franchise record.

However, despite the dominant defensive front, it was safety Talanoa Hufanga who was all over the field from the jump. Finishing with a team-leading 10 tackles, he was busy all day.

Outside of Hufanga, you can't talk defense without talking Nik Bonitto. After inking a massive contract extension, he started the day on defense with a tackle for loss on one of the first plays, setting the tone for the talented defensive front.

Advanced stats highlighted Bonitto's dominance: generating a career-high nine pressures throughout his 22 pass rush attempts. What's more, there were five attempts in which he got to the quarterback in under 2.5 seconds, earning him a sack in the Week 1 win

Denver held Tennessee to seven total first downs, 133 total yards, with two forced fumbles. If there was any doubt, Denver's defense was elite — this should erase those concerns, at least for now.

New look Broncos shone in the Week 1 win vs. the Titans

While the offense didn't set the league on fire, they did what they needed to do to get the victory. Starting red-hot in the preseason, you never know what it's all going to look like once the games matter.

For Nix, it was a struggle getting going, but once he calmed down, there were some incredible moments strewn throughout. One thing that's going to be fun to watch for fans this season is the connection between him and his No. 1 receiver in Courtland Sutton. Sutton finished his day with six catches on nine targets for 61 yards and an impressive touchdown.

Denver added some new pieces in RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins, along with Engram. All were among the higher-profile additions, and all made an impact in the contest.

The rookie broke free for a 50-yard gain in the fourth quarter, finishing his day with 70 yards on six carries. For Dobbins, he found the end zone and was the lead back, finishing with 63 yards on 16 carries for a touchdown.

Harvey had one catch for negative one yard, and Dobbins had two catches for five yards. Before Engram's injury, he hauled in three catches for 21 yards on four targets. While it wasn't a dominant stat line, he is an important piece of the team's future, and you could feel that.

Rounding out the offense, Troy Franklin had four catches for 44 yards, Tyler Badie added two catches for 16 yards, Lucas Krull hauled in one catch for six yards, Trautman had a catch for five yards, Adam Prentice showed up with one catch for four yards, and Trent Sherfield had one catch for three yards.

The 20-12 final was ugly, but a win is a win, and there's plenty more positive than negative to pull from the contest.