Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season and periodically during the offseason. Click here to submit a question.
Parker, most fans only know what we learn through media. The first week, the Broncos offense disappointed, the second week it was the defense, and both weeks it was the coaching. Would it not be better to save the hype, the so-called expert rhetoric and just wait to see how the team plays? Would it reduce interest?
— Jon, Thornbury, Ontario, Canada
Hey Jon, thanks for writing in and for getting us going this week from north of the border. Georgian Bay… about as pretty as it gets.
Here’s the interesting thing about Broncos hype this offseason — particularly this summer: There may not have been a bigger purveyor of it than Sean Payton himself. Of course, he’s not on television or podcasts every day, but he’s the head coach and he wasn’t afraid of putting lofty praise on this group. He’s the one who said he thinks this team could be a Super Bowl contender — the opening three weeks haven’t been pretty but that’s still not entirely out of the question. He’s the one who told national outlets he thought Bo Nix would be a top four or five quarterback in the NFL in the next two years.
Certainly, being bullish on the Broncos wasn’t a unique stance this summer. I picked them to have a good season and make the playoffs, and Payton and general manager George Paton deserve credit turning over the roster and building what looks like a deep, high-quality group. Personally, I’ve also maintained that, despite all that, they could finish third in the division just by nature of how strong it is. That was at play Sunday in Los Angeles. By most metrics, the Chargers thoroughly controlled the game. But the Broncos forced two takeaways, so it ends up going down to the wire. That’s life in this division.
Renck: What do Broncos do well offensively? Nothing on early downs. That’s on Sean Payton.
What happens when a team makes the playoffs in the NFL, especially with a rookie quarterback and a coach with a track record like Payton’s, is that becomes the new baseline. One of the many compelling parts about the league, though, is that every year there are multiple playoff teams that drop out and, thus, many that jump back in after being left out the year before. There are all kinds of twists and turns. You wouldn’t have expected Indianapolis to jump out to 3-0, powered to an historic offensive start by Daniel Jones. And Monday night’s game against Cincinnati is different with Jake Browning at quarterback than if it was Joe Burrow. So on and so forth, all through the season.
The Broncos definitely got more buzz this offseason from all corners than in recent years and there were definitely some that jumped headlong into the deep end of the hype pool. Some of it went overboard and that’d be a fair thing to say even if Denver was sitting at 2-1 or 3-0 right now. But it’s also certainly worth remembering that the expectations are really high internally. From Payton to the locker room, guys have said they expect to be in the mix this year. Let’s see how it looks the next few weeks.
Parker, it seemed un-Payton-like for Sean Payton to not go for it on fourth-and-1 after Bo Nix’s scramble in the fourth quarter. I know we were relying on the defense, but they were giving up chunk plays all game. It was only a matter of time they’d struggle in the red zone.
— Mike, Denver
Hey Mike, yeah interesting thought and one I’ve had a couple of conversations about over recent days. Payton got asked after the game if he considered challenging the spot or going for it and he said they had a good look at the play. Plus, replay assist could have changed the spot without a challenge if there’d been a clear view. Payton, in answering the question, also said, “I saw the way we were playing. Field position mattered.”
The Broncos at the time were leading 20-13 with 5:15 to go and decided to punt from their own 29-yard line. We know what happened next. The Chargers drove down the field and Herbert made a terrific play on a 20-yard touchdown to Keenan Allen that tied the game with 2:37 remaining in regulation.
The argument for going in that scenario can certainly be made. It’s aggressive, but your defense has already been on the field a ton. Not only that, but as you alluded to, you’ve given up a bunch of yards in the middle of the field but also been stout defensively in the red zone. If you turn it over on downs, maybe the Chargers tie the game but you’re still going to have plenty of time to operate. Then if you convert, obviously, you’ve much more in control of the latter stages of the game.
Based on the way Payton’s talked about these types of decisions in the past, here’s another factor that likely contributed to his decision to punt: The Broncos went for a fourth-and-1 on the possession before and came up with a 22-yard completion off of play action to Courtland Sutton.
That play probably topped the list of short-yardage options in a key spot. So perhaps with the lack of consistent push in the middle of the field and that play already used just a few minutes earlier, Payton didn’t have a call he loved in that spot.
Tight end play is disgraceful.
— Bill, Aurora
Hey Bill, it has indeed been tough sledding with Evan Engram limited in the two games he’s played and out with the back injury Sunday.
Denver’s excited to have Nate Adkins back in the fold, but it was obviously a big ask to have him back in there playing after six weeks of rehab on the ankle without hardly a day in pads. That rust certainly showed at times. Then Adam Trautman and Lucas Krull are known commodities, both in what they bring to the offense and what their limitations are. Trautman’s had the penalty bug so far this season, which could be a bit flukey but also needs to be cleaned up quickly.
Overall, the offense really needs Engram in good form. How quickly does that happen for a 31-year-old who has now already been on the injury list with two different issues, including his back? We’ll see.
Broncos podcast: At 1-2, is it time to worry about Sean Payton’s team?
How much negative mojo may linger from the Chargers game and spill into the next?
— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.
Hey Ed, good question. That hasn’t really been too much of an issue for the Broncos under Payton, but back-to-back walk-off losses are going to sting no matter what. In general, this team’s got a bunch of veteran players who have seen the ebbs and flows of seasons and know things can turn around quickly. A good number of the players were around for their four-game surge last year after back-to-back losses to Baltimore and Kansas City and some were part of the five-game streak in 2023, too.
But there are also real issues that need to get fixed quickly. The penalties have been brutal. The special teams gaffes are too frequent. Some metrics have Denver’s offense as the least efficient in the NFL on early downs through three weeks. You can’t live like that and you certainly can’t rip off a winning streak like that.
Hello Parker! We were supposed to see the next step from the Broncos toward a championship. They kept most of their playoff roster from last year, including all the starters from both the offensive and defensive lines. Bo Nix was entering his second year with his first regular offseason after a good rookie year. And yet so far, they look exactly like last year — we don’t see progression. It’s only week 3, but it’s also already week 3, and already three games back in the division. Last season, Denver feasted on one of the worst divisions in football (NFC South) that accounted for 40% of their wins. I don’t see that on their schedule this time around. Do we have to worry about going to the playoff at all?
— Yoann, Beine-Nauroy, France
Hey Yoann, thanks as always for writing in. I like that line, it’s only Week 3 but it’s also already Week 3. We’ve covered some of the roster and expectations stuff, so let’s get to what you’re saying about the schedule. Totally agree.
The Broncos’ next three feature all interesting matchups in Cincinnati sans Burrow and then Philadelphia on the road (obviously very tough) and the to-date winless New York Jets in London. After that comes a stretch where the early season road warriors are at home quite a bit. They play the New York Giants and Dallas back-to-back at home, go to Houston and then host Las Vegas and Kansas City.
From the Jets game through Kansas City, none of those teams are currently above .500. Three — the Jets, Giants and Texans — are winless while the Cowboys, Raiders and Chiefs are 1-2. But I’m not sure that stretch is particularly easy, either. Especially playing in London and then coming home without the benefit of a bye week. Obviously the next couple are important, but that looming stretch of playing at home frequently is a part of the schedule where Denver’s got to make hay.
Wasn’t Dre Greenlaw put through an extensive physical before signing him. If so and he passed, I would start getting second and third opinions from independent orthopedic surgeons. Greenlaw wasn’t ready to play.
— Max A. Clark, Cortez
Hey Max, thanks for writing. He was indeed, like all players are. And the Broncos had eyes wide open about the extensive recent injury issues Greenlaw had dealt with. He tore his Achilles in the Super Bowl in Feb. 2024, then played only 34 defensive snaps across two games in the 2024 season before a calf issue ended his year.
Any criticism of the Broncos here isn’t really about the decision to sign Greenlaw in the first place. It would be about how the quad injury lingered. After Greenlaw was first hurt in April, Payton downplayed the severity and said he had to restrain himself from commenting on the initial reporting out of the Bay Area, which suggested he could miss regular-season time.
Now, to Payton’s credit, Greenlaw was indeed out there at the start of training camp as he predicted. But it was only a couple of days before the quad started hurting Greenlaw again he’s been mostly out or very limited since.
Then the Broncos clearly thought he’d be ready by Week 3 or 4 so they didn’t put him on injured reserve. But that timeline didn’t work, either, and now he’s on IR and out until at least Week 7. Clearly, the treatment plan and Greenlaw’s recovery have not gone the way he or the Broncos thought it would. But that’s all more about the post-injury months rather than the decision to sign him in the first place.
Sean Payton explains Broncos’ decision to put Dre Greenlaw on IR: ‘There’s plenty of season left’
Hello from Denmark. What about some more naked boots and rollouts? Bo Nix seems very comfortable running and throwing.
— CT Ellison, Hundested, Denmark
Hey CT, thanks for writing in. Plenty of international flavor this week, I like it.
Those are certainly concepts that Nix likes and has been mostly effective in. It’ll be interesting to see if the Broncos can get rolling with more of the outside zone concepts they’ve been working on and players have talked about extensively over recent months. That lends itself well to the play-action game, the boots and all of that. Obviously there are other ways to get Nix on the move, too.
Payton on Sunday used a bunch of his openers to try to feature rookie RB RJ Harvey and Denver just couldn’t get going. They opened with three straight three-and-outs. It’s kind of a chicken and egg problem. You’re not going to get the run game ramped up when you go three and out and run only 54 plays for the game. But you’re also more likely to end up in those types of games when you don’t run the ball.
There will be plenty of temptation to go right for the jugular Monday night against a beleaguered Bengals defense. It’ll be fascinating to see how Payton approaches it.
Hey Parker! It’s tough being a Broncos fan amongst Cheeseheads (but better than rooting for the Bears — that rivalry ain’t no joke!). Speaking of rivalries, traditionally the Raiders have been Public Enemy No. 1 for Denver, but they haven’t really been much of a threat for a long time. Do you think the Chiefs, with their annoyingly long run of recent success, have taken over the top spot as our most hated rival now? And if the Chargers ever duplicate Kansas City’s success, do they have a shot at ascending to the top? Finally, which non-AFC West opponent do we think most deserves our scorn?
— Mark, Fort Atkinson, Wis.
Hey Mark, thanks for writing! Closest mailbag submission to my hometown of New Glarus in quite some time. Congrats, you win, ummm, a permission slip from me to get some squeaky cheese curds from Kwik Trip.
Certainly the Chiefs have become the big bad wolf for everybody in the division and Payton this offseason pretty much said, “yeah, we’re coming for them.” Still, there’s just something about the Raiders rivalry that resonates with the fan base. The Harbaugh Chargers are going to engender that kind of disdain, too, I think. That’s what you want in the division. Nothing but hardened feelings.
As for out of the division, I don’t know about scorn but certainly Denver’s getting familiar with the Jets. The teams have played seven of the past eight years, play in London next month and are on the docket yet again in 2026 in New Jersey. That’ll make nine of 10 years. Crazy. Plus now you’ve got a former Paton lieutenant as general manager in Darren Mougey and a former Payton disciple as head coach in Aaron Glenn.
Two plays before Nix threw his interception against the Colts in Week 2, all the Broncos had to do was run the ball a couple of times. The worst-case scenario was to come away with three points and go up by eight. Instead, Sean Payton treated Nix like Drew Brees and had him throw the ball. When will Payton live up to his promise of giving Bo a strong running game instead of having him shoulder so much of the offense?
— Tim, Florida
Hey Tim, thanks for writing in. And interesting example you chose because, yes, Payton called a pass play on first-and-10 from the Indy 35-yard line, but Nix checked it down to J.K. Dobbins for 9 yards. The real issue there is that on second-and-1, a play-caller and quarterback’s dream scenario, Dobbins got stuffed for minus-2. That set up the third-and-3 where Payton went back to the pass and Nix threw the interception while looking for Sutton.
So I totally agree with you on two fronts: First, that they need to find a way to run the ball more consistently. And also that the sequence preceding the pick was an underrated, critical one. But it was the stuff in the run game that set up disaster in this case.
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