Call them the Denver Brncs. That’s right, no O.
The Broncos were stagnant on offense in their home opener Sunday, failing to score a touchdown in a 13-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their running backs were stuck in a swamp throughout the game, carrying 15 times for just 39 yards. And rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw a brutal third-quarter interception in the end zone as Denver fell to 0-2.
“Offensively, we were not near good enough,’’ said Denver coach Sean Payton. “Our third-down numbers were (2 of 12). … I just finished telling the coaches on that side of the ball that needs to get cleaned up. That starts with me.’’
Indeed, it does.
“I am calling the plays,’’ he said.
With that in mind, Payton made a very curious call late in the game when the Broncos amazingly still had a chance at Empower Field at Mile High. After Wil Lutz made a 29-yard field goal with 1:54 remaining to cut the deficit to 13-6, they prepared to kick off.
Denver had only one timeout left but Payton elected not to call for an onside kick. The Broncos stopped the Steelers (2-0) on three straight plays but got the ball with nine seconds left and then had no chance.
“We spent a lot of time going through it back and forth,’’ Payton said. “We had plenty of time to discuss it, there was a player (tackle Mike McGlinchey) down. … It was just weighing the odds versus recovering an onside kick or getting the ball back with 26 seconds. We chose to kick off.”
Well, Payton, who thought Pittsburgh's three plays would take less time off the clock, was only off by 17 seconds.
As for Nix, for the second time in his two starts a lot of passes were off the mark. He completed 20 of 35 passes for 245 yards with two interceptions but at least his passer rating of 55.2 was better than the 47.5 he had at Seattle in a 26-20 loss in the Sept. 8 opener.
“I think when you go back and watch the film, I think I took a good step,’’ Nix insisted. “Sometimes good steps don’t turn into wins though. So, it’s a long process. It’s a tough league for a reason.”
Nix didn’t deny that his first interception was a step back. With the Steelers up 10-0 midway through the third quarter and facing second-and-goal at the Steelers 6, his pass down the middle for Courtland Sutton was picked off in the back of the end zone by Cory Trice.
“That falls on me,’’ said Nix, whose second interception was on a desperation heave on the game’s final play. “That was just a bad decision. Can’t have that.”
The Broncos two plays earlier had gained 49 yards on a trick play. A direct snap went to running back Javonte Williams, who handed the ball to Sutton, who flipped it back to Nix. The rookie then threw the ball downfield to the Pittsburgh 7 to Josh Reynolds, who finished with four catches for 93 yards.
“That’s something that we worked on all week,’’ Nix said.
The game had been expected to be a duel between Nix and Russell Wilson, who was the Broncos’ quarterback the past two seasons before he was released in March, and they took an $85 million salary-cap hit. But Wilson was inactive for the second straight week due to a calf injury and again dressed out as the emergency third quarterback.
Justin Fields got the start for Pittsburgh and was far from spectacular, completing 13 of 20 passes for 117 yards and rushing eight times for 27 yards. He did throw a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Darnell Washington late in the first quarter for a 7-0 Steelers lead. And he led them to Chris Boswell field goals of 22 yards in the second quarter and 53 yards in the third quarter.
Payton said the Broncos “played good defense,” with Pittsburgh’s yardage total of 251 actually being less than Denver’s 295. But cornerback Riley Moss lamented the Broncos having nine penalties for a whopping 124 yards.
“It’s one of those things where we can do better as a defense,’’ Moss said. “We had too many penalties. We got to be able to adjust to the officiating crew.”
But problems on defense look far easier for the Broncos to fix than those on offense. Starting back Williams carried 11 times for a meager 17 yards and backup Jaleel McLaughlin three times for 16 yards. Tyler Badie did have a 16-yard run in the second quarter on his first carry, which strangely also was his last one.
“As far as us in the run game, we’ve just got to stay more consistent,’’ Williams said.
Nix did carry four times for 25 yards, but the Broncos finished with a still meager 64 yards on the ground. Guard Ben Powers said the offensive line was not up to par.
“To see a performance like that, it definitely hurts,’’ he said.
For the second straight week, Nix was hurt by dropped passes.
“We got to make the plays when they’re there,’’ said tight end Greg Dulcich. “I obviously had two drops and that’s unacceptable.”
Sutton said not scoring a touchdown also was unacceptable.
“We know that we have talent,’’ he said of the offense. “We know that we trust in the system and in the game plans that are getting put together. But we’re just not executing.”
The Broncos, though, look to have more talent on defense than offense. And they held the Steelers to just 13 points despite losing defensive end John Franklin-Myers for the game with a concussion and outside linebacker Baron Browning for the game with a foot injury.
So, thanks to the defense, at least they weren’t the enver Brncs.
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