The Denver Broncos Won An Extremely Ugly Game In Week 1.

Denver’s game had a plethora of mistakes. It began with the quarterback Bo Nix. It is only week one, so it’s important not to overreact after just one game, but he did not give Broncos fans much to cheer about.

Nix looked unsettled all game long. The Titans’ defense and Jeffery Simmons deserve a lot of credit for his poor play. Simmons, earlier in the week, called out Nix, saying he was a one-read QB who takes off running after his first read isn’t open.

Simmons backed up his big talk with a big game, registering a sack and many pressures. Not a great day for Nix supporters.

Nix’s interceptions were the definition of rookie mistakes. The first one was him drifting left and throwing up a risky ball, and the second one was a throw into double coverage. He also had a fumble that came after he held on to the ball too long.

It wasn’t a matter of the Titans’ defense fooling Nix. It was he making poor decisions that looked eerily familiar to what he did early in his rookie season last year.

The rest of the team did not play up to standard either. Marvin Mims, who is usually a reliable returner, muffed a punt in the fourth quarter when the team was up 13-12.

On top of that, Sean Payton had a brutal outing as well. He had two challenges on the day, and it was pretty obvious that he wasn’t going to win either of them. That’s not the most puzzling thing he did this game, though.

The Broncos were up 20-12 with just over 50 seconds left at the Titans’ 37-yard line. They faced fourth and eight. Normally, the two options are to kick the field goal or punt the ball.

To everyone’ surprise, Denver went for it on fourth down and dialed up a deep pass to Mims running a deep cross down the field. It was an inexplicable decision by the former Super Bowl-winning coach. If anyone says they saw that playcall coming, they are lying through their teeth.

The team just didn’t look sharp today on offense and special teams.

The Defense Is As Advertised

One aspect of the Broncos that came to play was that defense. Yes, it was against a rookie quarterback and subpar Titans offense, but six sacks are impressive no matter what.

Denver did not allow Tennessee in the end zone once all game. The Titans’ points were all from field goals. They did a great job making Ward uncomfortable all game long.

This one is a mind-blowing stat. The Broncos held the Titans to negative two yards of total offense in the entire second half. This unit kept bailing out the defense time and time again.

An example was early in the fourth when Mims fumbled deep in Denver territory when they were up 13-12. The Titans took over at around the Denver 30-yard line. They’re guaranteed a field goal, right? Worst case scenario they’re going up 15-13.

The Broncos’ pass rush had other plans. They sacked Ward on back-to-back plays and left them at midfield on fourth down. Tennessee had no choice but to punt.

Denver’s defense was not only dominant, but it was clutch. The plays they made were needed at those points of the game. Nik Bonito showed that he was worth every penny of his new contract.

It’s incredible to think that the Broncos defense can be even better his year. If the offense can figure it out, watch out.

End Of My Broncos Rant

It was a tough game to watch and at times discouraging. At the end of the day, though, the point of the game is to win. It doesn’t matter how it happens.

Denver sits at 1-0 ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs in the division. Yes, there is a lot for Nix to figure out, but his body of work says he’s more than capable.

On another positive note, the run game looked better. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough. RJ Harvey and JK Dobbins combined for 133 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown.

They brought a level of explosiveness to the ground game that hasn’t been seen in Denver for years. It was an ugly game for sure, but make no mistake about it, the Broncos are not to be messed with. They can still be a dangerous playoff team.