The Denver Broncos need to enter their first full-scale rebuild in order to become a winning team … [+] again. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Denver Post via Getty Images There’s no question about it, the 2023 Denver Broncos are one of the worst teams in the NFL.
Despite entering the season with high expectations following the hiring of Super Bowl champion head coach Sean Payton, the Broncos aren’t anywhere close to being a contender — in fact, they’re much closer to being a team that picks No. 1 overall next season.
The hapless Broncos lost another dud as they dropped to 1-5 on the season. This time around, they lost to the Chiefs for the 16th consecutive time, 19-8.
In game where no one expected the Broncos to win, the defensive unit somehow had their best game of the season against arguably the league’s best quarterback in Patrick Mahomes. In fact, Denver’s defensive unit held the Chiefs to just 1-for-5 in the red zone, including forcing an interception and a turnover on downs.
However, these 2023 Broncos can never play a complementary game. Either the defensive unit, offensive unit, special teams group or head coach finds a way to completely screw it up for the rest of the team. In tonight’s case, the offensive unit let the team down, with special teams being a major issue in the first half of the game.
To top it all off, it felt like Payton was doing his best to not win the game.
In one of the most puzzling decisions you’ll see by a head coach in a game, Payton called a timeout with 22 seconds remaining in the first half following a sack on Russell Wilson during a failed third down conversion. The Chiefs weren’t going to call a timeout, instead electing to enter halftime with a 10-0 lead.
However, Payton decided to call a timeout for no reason and then decided to punt the ball. Needless to say, the Chiefs drove down the field and Harrison Butker converted on a 60-yard field goal to give Kansas City a 13-0 lead at halftime.
Payton admitted following the game that it was a “boneheaded mistake” by him.
That’s not even including several questionable play calls when the game was still within reach, including a failed third down conversion that saw Wilson roll out to the right with two receivers blanketed by defenders.
Wilson entered the game with an impressive stat line. In fact, through five games, he had been one of the Broncos’ best performers posting 11 touchdowns against two interceptions for a 106.1 passer rating, the fourth-highest in the league. However, advanced analytics show that Wilson had actually been underperforming, posting a 15 quarterback rating in the second half/overtime of games, the worst in the NFL.
For those that were fooled by the basic statistics, Wilson’s lack of explosiveness and inability to convert when it matters most was on full display in front of a national television audience during this game.
The Broncos didn’t score any points until 6: 07 was left in the fourth quarter. Entering the fourth quarter, the Broncos produced just 44 passing yards. In fact, prior to Denver’s first touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, Wilson had gone 9-for-17 for a total of 68 yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions.
Yes, it’s true that Wilson wasn’t the entire reason for the Broncos’ dismal offensive showing. The receivers — led by Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy, two trade deadline pieces — failed to gain any separation for most of the night. In fact, Jeudy — who was involved in a pregame spat with NFL Network analyst and former receiver Steve Smith — produced just three receptions for 14 receiving yards.
But it’s also true that Wilson’s two interceptions were all on him, especially the first one as Denver was near midfield in the first quarter down 3-0.
This was in spite of the fact that the Broncos ran the ball extremely well, averaging 5.0 yards per carry as a team, paced by Javonte Williams’ 5.2 yards per carry and Jaleel McLaughlin’s 4.3 yards per attempt.
Meanwhile, special teams was once again an issue as punter Riley Dixon came out weak in the first half, with his 29-yarder directly leading to good field position for Butker’s field goal.
Through the first several games of the season, it became apparent that Denver is not the team that most people thought they were going to be. The defensive unit was shellshocked as they allowed a franchise record 70 points to the Miami Dolphins in a record-breaking Week 3 loss. Through the first five games of the season, they had proven to be the worst unit in the league, ranking dead last in the league by allowing 36.2 points per game.
Meanwhile, Russell Wilson blew countless opportunities to win games with the game on the line on the last drive in the fourth quarter, coming up short in losses to the Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders and New York Jets.
The problem with the Broncos isn’t one person or one unit — it’s the entire team.
This is a franchise that has yet to recover after winning Super Bowl 50 at the conclusion of the 2015 season. Led by a lackluster regime with John Elway as general manager — and now George Paton — the organization has been in a free fall ever since, becoming the biggest joke in the NFL in the process.
They’ve made bad decisions when it comes to head coaches — Nathaniel Hackett, Vic Fangio and Vance Joseph — and bad decisions when it comes to their quarterbacks, with Wilson and his $243 million deal being the worst of them all.
Simply put, it’s an organizational failure.
Not too long ago, the Broncos were the epitome of a successful franchise. Under the ownership of Pat Bowlen from 1984 until 2019, the Broncos had posted the second-highest winning percentage in the NFL and third-highest winning percentage in American professional sports.
Since 2017, they have the NFL’s third-worst record, with only the New York Jets and New York Giants being worse. However, the Giants at least have recent success, winning a playoff game last season. Meanwhile, the Jets at least have a bright future with one of their few weaknesses being at quarterback.
The Broncos have simply been a bad organization in recent years.
The problem is, Denver has refused to enter a rebuild, flirting with the idea that they can contend with a big quarterback move or big head coaching hire.
Well, they’ve done both in the past two seasons. And they’re worse than they’ve ever been as a team.
USC quarterback Caleb Williams may not be the sole solution to all of the Broncos’ problems. But he can surely help lead the Broncos back into an era of stability if the franchise is lucky enough to land him.
The Broncos will be in full fire sale mode by the trade deadline on October 31. That means key players like Sutton, Jeudy, safety Justin Simmons, tackle Garett Boles and others will be available.
And simply put, it’s what’s best for both the franchise and the players. Boles said it best following the record-breaking Dolphins loss in Week 3.
“I’m tired of losing, man,” Bolles said back in September. “I’ve been here seven years and all I’ve done is lost, and it’s frustrating.”
It’s time for a fresh start for everyone.
For the first time in decades, the Broncos will enter a rebuild.
And it’s absolutely necessary if Denver is to ever regain its place as a winning franchise in the NFL.