DENVER — Before Sunday, the last time the Denver Broncos scored fewer than seven points in a game the team didn’t have a quarterback.
That’s right.
The last time Denver scored six or fewer points in a single game they had Kendall Hinton and Phillip Lindsay at quarterback after Drew Lock and the quarterback room were disqualified for the game for a COVID violation in 2020.
Sean Payton was part of that game. He was just on the other sideline as the New Orleans Saints head coach.
But on Sunday, the Broncos did have a quarterback. In fact, they had Payton’s handpicked first-round quarterback Bo Nix. Yet they were still unable to score a touchdown or top six points.
“It was obviously a disappointing loss,” the head coach stated after Denver fell 13-6 to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. “I think we went into the game expecting more of a low-scoring game. We felt it was going to be very important for us to be patient with the run game and play field position. We had some things that really hurt us obviously. Offensively, we were not near good enough. Our third-down numbers, I think, were two-of-something. We turned the ball over once.”
Unfortunately, the Broncos know offensive struggles all too well. The Nathaniel Hackett and Russell Wilson era brought many low scoring games. But none as bad as Sunday’s six-point performance.
“I just finished telling the coaches that that side of the ball needs to get cleaned up. That starts with me,” Payton said at his post-game press conference. “We have to start really looking at who we are asking to do what.”
What does Payton mean by that?
“We are rotating a lot of different personnel groups in and out. I do not know if that is helping us quite honestly,” the head coach explained. “We need to evaluate that closely relative to our personnel.”
A staple of Payton’s offense during his 15 years with the Saints was constantly rotating different personnel groups and players in and out of the game to keep defenses on their toes and keep his players fresh.
With a rookie quarterback starting — something Payton has never had — all of that rotation and constant change might be just too much too soon for Nix.
At halftime, the Broncos had 62 total yards of offense and zero points. Denver’s top two running backs, Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin, had five carries for nine yards.
“It does not turn around overnight,” Payton said, when asked about the Broncos’ struggling rushing attack. “It has to be something that we are all committed to even before the players come in and get the plan. In other words, what scheme fits our players and what scheme fits our quarterback? I think that is going to be important.”
Through the first two games of the season, Denver’s offense has scored 24 total points. That’s only 12 points per game. It’s still early in the season, but that’s worse than the offense that got Hackett canned before his first season in Denver was even over.
Payton is already looking in the mirror and questioning whether he’s putting too much into the offense, especially with a rookie quarterback.
“When you run a play and it has success, you look at the pieces. When you run a play and it does not have success, are we putting our guys in the best position,” Payton questioned, looking at himself.
After a dismal offensive start to the season, Payton pointed to simplicity being the key to getting back in the end zone.
