Football is back, and man, it was a sloppy one for both teams. However, at the end of the day, the Broncos, led by their defense, did enough to win the game and start the year with a 1-0 record.
It was a very sloppy game for the Broncos. You had three Bo Nix turnovers, a muffed punt, multiple penalties, drops, missed throws, bad blocks, and just overall sloppy play. This was the theme around the league this week, and the Broncos will have plenty to clean up during practice this week.
On the other hand, this Broncos defense looked elite. They stuffed the run, pressured Cam Ward all game, and continued to make big plays all game. They looked as advertised, and if they play like this all year, they will keep the Broncos in just about every game this season.
With all that said, here are your winners and losers from the Broncos’ 20-12 victory over the Titans.
LOSER - Bo Nix
Nix started the game hot. He was making good throws and led the Broncos offense down the field for an opening drive field goal. However, the wheels would fall off from there. He would throw 2 interceptions, probably should have had a few more, had a strip sack, and missed on a few throws in this game.
He looked flustered by the Titans’ pressure and was trying to force the ball downfield, but was just making mistakes. He did make plenty of good throws, a few of which were called back by penalties, but the bad outweighs the good in this one.
I don’t think this means “Bo Nix sucks”, even though his haters will have ammo now, but it was a sloppy game for the Broncos quarterback. It’s just week one, they have a game under their belt, they’re 1-0, and we saw Nix turn it on as the season progressed last season.
I still B0-Lieve.
WINNER - Broncos Defense
The expectations and hype for this defense were high coming into the season, and man, they did not disappoint.
They pressured rookie quarterback Cam Ward all game; the Titans’ wide receivers were a non-factor all game; they stuffed the run, and forced multiple turnovers. They looked as advertised and won this game for the Broncos.
Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper were menaces off the edge, and both had a sack and a ton of pressures in this game. Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers were monsters in the middle, linebacker Justin Strnad played a helluva game, and corner Ja’Quan McMillian ended the game with a strip sack. We also saw Talanoa Hufanga force a fumble, Riley Moss had great coverage throughout, Pat Surtain II shut down everyone, and the defense dominated despite being down Dre Greenlaw and Malcolm Roach.
If/when the offense gets it together, this Broncos team could be dangerous.
WINNER - Broncos run game
Sean Payton didn’t run the ball as much as anticipated, but the Broncos’ run game is a big reason why they ended up winning this game. Veteran JK Dobbins had 16 carries for 63 yards and 1 touchdown, while rookie RJ Harvey had 6 carries for 70 yards, which included a long 50-yard run.
Combined, they had 22 carries for 133 yards and 1 touchdown. That comes to a very healthy 6.0 yards per carry, which is a massive improvement from what we saw from the Broncos running backs last season.
With this success, we’ll have to see if Payton will lean more on the run game moving forward. I know many fans are hoping that will be the case vs. the Colts next week.
LOSER - Sloppy play
I know it’s week 1, and we saw a lot of this throughout the league today, but the Broncos cannot play like this moving forward.
They had 4 turnovers in this game (2 interceptions and 2 fumbles), 6 penalties (honestly, I thought there would have been more), which all seemed to wipe out a positive play, and just overall sloppy, undisciplined play. It’s not what you want, and something Payton will likely stress throughout this upcoming week.
LOSER - RB Tyler Badie
On one hand, his usage should make him a winner. He was seeing a lot of action on third downs, was targeted in the pass game, and seemed to have a key role in the Broncos’ offense. However, he failed to take advantage of these snaps vs. the Titans.
The play that stood out to me was the dropped screen pass early in the game. The Titans brought the blitz, and Badie was in perfect position with the open field in front of him to potentially score a big touchdown. However, he would drop the ball, and it just spiraled from there.
Again, the usage is noteworthy and could be something we see moving forward but he needs to take advantage of these snaps moving forward. We have seen him make plays on a limited basis for the Broncos and he needs to step it up if he wants to continue to get these snaps.
LOSER - Playcalling
I hate calling out playcalling because Sean Payton knows more than all of us combined, but it seemed like a rough one for the Broncos coach. He was very pass-heavy early in the game, and the Titans stopped buying the play-action fakes, which led to a pass rusher being in Nix’s lap quickly multiple times. Then, late in the game, he went for it on 4th down and called a play that worked (receivers were wide open), but Nix couldn’t get the pass off properly, and it would fall incomplete. I liked the ballsy play, but the execution wasn’t great.
Add in the substitutions leading to the play clock running low, some questionable plays and decisions throughout the game, and you have a sloppy week one game for the Broncos.
WINNER - Broncos win
It wasn’t pretty. They turned the ball over 4 times, Bo Nix didn’t have a great game, and it came down to the wire, but at the end of the day, a win is a win. Style points don’t matter, and the Broncos are 1-0 and avoid potentially going 0-2 for three straight seasons.
Do they have a lot to work on? Sure. It’s a long season, and you need to win a few sloppy ones along the way. Hopefully, they clean things up and the Broncos can improve to 2-0 next week vs. the Colts.
Other notable Winners and Losers
P Jeremy Crawshaw - WINNER: A lot was made about the rookie punter’s struggles during camp and the preseason, but he had a good game today. He had 3 punts that averaged 48 yards and all 3 were downed inside the 20-yard line. That’s a win for me in my book.
WR Courtland Sutton - WINNER: Sutton caught the Broncos’ only passing touchdown in this game and was the leading playmaker for them in this game.
WR/KR Marvin Mims Jr - LOSER: The All-Pro returner made a rare mistake and muffed a punt that led to a turnover. The Broncos’ defense bailed him out, but something you cannot have happen. He also didn’t do a ton on offense.
LB Justin Strnad - WINNER: I mentioned him already, but he had a helluva game today and made multiple big plays for the Broncos defense.
Broncos kick return coverage - LOSER: After the Broncos scored a big touchdown right before halftime, they allowed the Titans to have a big kick return, which got them into field goal range with a few seconds left. Instead of it being a 10-6 game at halftime, it was a 10-9 game.
C Luke Wattenberg - LOSER: He was blown up on Nix’s 4th down QB sneak. That’s all. Not sure how he played throughout the game but that play stood out to be in a bad way.
0 Comments