DENVER — Prior to Sunday, the Denver Broncos had not had a quarterback and had scored fewer than seven points in a game.
That’s correct.
Denver last scored six or less points in a single game in 2020, with Kendall Hinton and Phillip Lindsay at quarterback after Drew Lock and the quarterback room were disqualified due to a COVID violation.
Sean Payton took part in that game. He has recently served as head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
However, on Sunday, the Broncos did have a quarterback. In fact, they had Payton’s preferred first-round quarterback, Bo Nix. They were still unable to score a touchdown or reach six points.
“It was obviously a disappointing loss,” Denver’s head coach said after falling 13-6 to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. “I suppose we expected a low-scoring game. We believed it was critical for us to be patient with the run game and play field position. We had certain things that obviously upset us. Offensively, we were nowhere near good enough. Our third-down numbers, I believe, were two of something. “We turned the ball over once.”
Unfortunately, the Broncos are well aware of their offensive woes. Low-scoring games were common throughout the Nathaniel Hackett and Russell Wilson eras. However, none were as terrible as Sunday’s six-point performance.
“I just finished telling the coaches that that side of the ball needed to be cleaned up.” “That begins with me,” Payton stated at his post-game press conference. “We have to start really looking at who we are asking to do what.”
What exactly does Payton mean by that?
“We are cycling a variety of personnel groupings in and out. “I’m not sure if that’s helping us,” the head coach said. “We need to evaluate that closely relative to our personnel.”
During his 15-year tenure with the Saints, Payton’s offence was built around regularly rotating different personnel groups and players in and out of the game to keep defences on their toes and his players fresh.
With a rookie quarterback beginning, something Payton has never experienced, all of that rotation and continual change may be too much for Nix.
At halftime, the Broncos had 62 total yards of offence but no points. Denver’s top two running backs, Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin, combined for five carries and nine yards.
“It does not turn around overnight,” Payton said when asked about the Broncos’ dismal rushing attack. “It has to be something that we are all committed to, even before the players arrive and learn the plan. In other words, which plan best suits our guys and our quarterback? I believe that will be significant.”
Denver’s offence has tallied 24 points in its first two games this season. That’s just 12 points each game. It’s still early in the season, but that’s worse than Hackett’s offence, which got him fired before his first season in Denver even ended.
Payton is already looking in the mirror, wondering if he’s putting too much into the offence, especially with a rookie quarterback.
“When a play is successful, you look at the pieces. When a play fails, are we placing our players in the greatest possible position?” Payton asked himself.
Following a poor offensive start to the season, Payton stated that simplicity was the key to getting back in the end zone.
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