The Good, Bad, & Ugly from Broncos' 23-20 Loss to Chargers

If you had told me before the season that the Broncos' offensive line would be a liability, I would’ve laughed in your face, but against the Chargers, they looked absolutely horrendous. The biggest gripe comes from the interior line play, as center Luke Wattenburg and left guard Ben Powers have been middling to terrible thus far.

Most surprisingly, All-Pro right guard Quinn Meinerz has regressed from last year. The run-blocking from this unit was nonexistent against the Chargers’ defensive line, which was missing Khalil Mack.

It’s no wonder the Broncos’ ground game hasn’t materialized with how quickly and easily the offensive line is being either pushed back into the ball-carrier or letting defenders squeak through. 

The Ugly: Bo Nix

I’ll start by saying this game isn’t the end of the road for Nix as the hopeful franchise quarterback, but he had one of his worst games as a pro, leaving several game-altering plays on the field, even though he didn't turn the ball over (for the first time this season).

The play-calling from Sean Payton has been scrutinized heavily as of late, but Nix isn’t going through his reads properly, resulting in early checkdowns when one of his receivers is wide open down the field.

Nix is also falling back into bad habits with his footwork, resulting in errant throws and inaccuracy, something he was not known for coming out of Oregon. Most frustrating were his three egregious overthrows to wide-open receivers deep downfield.

The one that will cause the most division is his miss to Marvin Mims Jr. in the first half, which hit him on the fingertips. There’s an argument to be made that Mims could’ve made the catch, but that ball has to be placed more accurately from Nix, especially with time to throw and a free receiver.

The play-calling has been ripped through three games, and in some cases, it’s warranted, but one has to wonder whether these short passes and screen plays are being frequently called because of Nix’s not reading the other calls properly.

You can’t have a successful run game if the opposing defense doesn’t respect your quarterback as a drop-back passer, and the Chargers dared Nix to win with his arm, and he couldn’t. It’s nowhere near time to think about benching Nix, but he needs to see the field better and correct his footwork if he is to unquestionably lead this franchise.

There’s still plenty of time for him to correct these mistakes. It’s not a question of whether Nix is good or not, but rather how good he really is. He has 14 more games to become undeniable.  

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"Yeah. I get it," Payton said post-game. "We’re in the third week of the season."