Mark Kiszla: Broncos have destroyed Mile High magic with bad starts to home games that are tragic

The Broncos have developed a nasty habit that must stop. Instead of being tough to beat at home, they’ve become hard to watch.

“It’s not easy looking at the scoreboard,” Denver quarterback Bo Nix said Sunday, “and seeing the deficit.”

Nix admitted the Broncos dug an ugly hole far too deep to escape during a 23-16 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in a home game far less competitive than the final score would indicate.

Mile High magic? It’s gone.

This team seems bent on taking the best home crowd in the NFL out of it from the opening kickoff, with starts to games that are downright tragic.

“All of this starts with me,” Payton said. “We have to be better offensively.”

Broncomaniacs expect – and deserve – a far better show at home from a coach being paid an $18 million salary.

For three seasons in the golden age of Broncos football, with Mike Shanahan coaching up Terrell Davis and Steve Atwater, Denver steadfastly refused to lose at home, going 27-1 on its own turf from 1996-98.

Yes, those masterpieces by the Mastermind were the work of the most talented squads in franchise history.

But the mess Payton has made of 5,280 feet above sea level is ridiculous.

In three home games this season, the Broncos have lost more times than they did at Mile High from 1996-98. Far too often, Ferris Bueller and his orange-and-blue clad teammates act like any given Sunday in Colorado is their day off.

That 1-2 record on home turf this season isn’t even the worst of it.

In the home-opener against Pittsburgh, the Broncos fell behind 13-0.

In their lone home victory against Las Vegas, the Broncos fell behind 10-0.

In this debacle against the Chargers, your home team got chased by a smattering of boos to the locker room, trailing 20-0 at intermission, with a disturbing deficit that would increase by another field goal before Nix finally found the end zone in the fourth quarter.

Even a knucklehead like me can figure out falling behind by a cumulative score of 46-0 over the course of three home games can reduce the happy roar of Broncosmania to disquieting anxiety.

“It is tough,” Payton said, “when you put yourself in that much of a hole.”

Yes, we all know Nix is a rookie and growing up can be hard to do for any young quarterback in the NFL.

His sloppy mechanics can lead to the football sailing into harm’s way, as it did into the hands of Chargers safety Elijah Molden on the first passing attempt by Denver on a cool and dry October afternoon.

But despite an embarrassingly bad 73.7 quarterback rating, I am willing to grade Nix on a generous curve and give him a gentleman’s C-minus for a half dozen starts.

Payton, however, merits no mercy. At the outset of games, the coach’s head is stuck so far up his play sheet, with its fancy-schmancy personnel packages, that it seems his ego gets in the way of a fast Denver start on offense.

During their five dozen offensive possessions from the opening coin flip through halftime, how many snaps did the Broncos have on the positive side of the 50-yard line, in Los Angeles territory?

Exactly one. And on that single snap, Broncos running back Javonte Williams fumbled, immediately handing the football back to the Chargers.

Payton has failed a Denver defense built for playoff success and currently surrendering a stingy 16 points per game, even after losing superstar cornerback Pat Surtain to a concussion on his first play against L.A quarterback Justin Herbert.

“Sometimes you get knocked down early,” Nix said, “and you’ve got to find a way to gut it out.”

The Broncos are blessed with guts and grit.

They’re short on imagination and innovation.

So, what can Payton do to fix the scoring blues before the next time the orange takes the field again at home later this month?

Rather than being obsessed with turning Nix into a cheap knock-off model of Drew Brees, perhaps Payton should shelve some of his old Saints strategy and take greater advantage of Nix’s feet with plays designed to get him some run-pass option looks outside the pocket before he’s forced to run for his life and scramble when Denver’s protection breaks down.

Uptempo suits Nix better, if Payton can quell the control freak in him and take the reins off the rookie.

The “B” in Broncos stands for boring. In an offensive huddle with few playmakers outside of receiver Courtland Sutton, it’s time to give the kids a chance.

Troy Franklin hauled in the first touchdown catch of his NFL career, which got Denver on the scoreboard in the final period. Coming off injury, Audric Estime rushed twice for 13 yards. Devaughn Vele led the Broncos with 78 yards on four receptions. They’re all rookies. And they all deserve more chances to awaken a comatose attack.

“We’re not waiting to redshirt these guys,” Payton said.

So, what’s Payton waiting for? A table at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, so he can tell old friends how he boldly won the Super Bowl way back in 2010?

On a Denver team with a playoff-worthy defense, the urgency to make changes on offense is so obvious even Nathaniel Hackett could see it.