For a moment Sunday, the Broncos offense looked over the edge and into the abyss.
It wasn’t a big mistake, a fiery exchange on the sideline or a loose ball bouncing on the Empower Field grass.
It was a stress test of the engine that drives any offense and is of particular importance to how Denver will operate this fall with a rookie quarterback: the offensive line.
This rookie quarterback, Bo Nix, broke the ball once on Sunday against Las Vegas with a #2 left tackle and a #3 right tackle in the game. He then played the final two series without his starting center.
Nix has played just 35% (110) of the team’s offensive snaps so far this season with Denver’s preferred starting quintet of LT Garett Bolles, LG Ben Powers, C Luke Wattenberg, RG Quinn Meinerz and RT Mike McGlinchey.
On Sunday, in a 34-18 win over the Raiders, Nix took snaps behind four different offensive line combinations due to injury concerns.
After remarkable health on offense in 2023, the Broncos have been tested multiple times so far this season.
“I’m glad we have that kind of depth and experience,” head coach Sean Payton said Monday.
Bolles left the opener with an ankle injury and has played since. He was wound up again on Sunday and had to go out for a while.
McGlinchey sprained his MCL late in the Week 2 loss to Pittsburgh and is out at least one more game on injured reserve, although it’s unclear at this point whether he’ll be ready to return when he is first eligible.
His replacement, Alex Palczewski, played admirably for two-plus starts, but injured his ankle early in the third quarter when Maxx Crosby appeared to unintentionally whip him as Crosby sacked Nix.
Thus, Denver’s third right tackle of the season arrived, swingman Matt Peart. Peart has mostly been the team’s giant tight end so far this season, a role he plays due to Quinn Bailey’s season-ending injury during training camp.
Seven plays after Peart moved in at right tackle, Bolles went down and Peart switched sides. Undrafted rookie Frank Crum got his first offensive action at right tackle. Payton placed tight end Adam Trautman on Crum’s side to help protect and Nix looked right from the snap, completing a quick throw to Courtland Sutton for 8 yards and a first down.
Bolles re-entered the game, but Crum got more points as he then became the giant tight end with Peart in charge at right tackle.
Wattenberg was injured on Nix’s 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Although he ultimately left the field on his own, No. 2 center Alex Forsyth handled the final 10 snaps of the game.
Payton said Monday he was pleased with the way Forsyth, Peart and Crum were replaced.
“Certainly Matt has more experience than Alex, but that’s kind of the nature of our business,” Payton said. “The guys stepped in and immediately replaced and got the job done.”
Still, the coach has repeatedly said the offense is working to “paint the perfect picture” for Nix and allow him to grow by learning but also benefiting from his teammates around him doing their jobs well. .
There’s no quicker way to stunt a young quarterback’s growth than letting the offensive line in front of him blighted by performance or health issues. The band didn’t play particularly well the first two weeks, but was starting to hit their stride.
However, whether it will be able to withstand further attrition remains a very open question.
A little thing I liked: Nix did not put the ball in danger on 31 dropbacks. A few times he got wrapped up by Crosby, the ball could be a little safer and he got it across the goal line on his sneak touchdown, but overall – especially in the passing game – he didn’t have much in the way. close calls.
Nix hasn’t thrown an interception in any of the last three games. The Broncos, of course, won all three. It’s not totally causal, but the quarterback playing without turnovers doesn’t hurt. Nix hasn’t thrown a pick in 97 straight losses, dating back to Denver’s last game, Week 2, against Pittsburgh.
A little thing that I didn’t like: Troy Franklin’s near touchdown drew a lot of attention because of how open-minded it was and also the exchange between Nix and Payton on the sideline afterward.
What was less noticed, however, was the pre-snap confusion. Payton expressed his displeasure that Nix “flipped” the play – Nix explained that Payton wanted the play to go inbounds rather than on the field. Nix made it seem like confusion in the group led to the reversal.
It certainly seemed confusing. The Broncos broke up the huddle in time, but Nix was talking to Franklin about where to line up and the mics even caught him saying “move”, then, as Franklin ran through, Nix said: “all the way”, indicating that Franklin was receiving on-the-fly instructions from Nix at the beginning of the play.
Marvin Mims Jr., who finally got open on a route, also looked confused. He had his palms up before the snap and hesitated at the start of his route before heading toward midfield. Franklin jumped sideways several times before the snap, which certainly didn’t help with his release.
In the end, both were open and Denver could have scored a touchdown either way. The play led to a viral moment and perhaps even a moment of respect for Nix.
However, wasting opportunities on big plays will cost the Broncos at some point.
A trend to watch: The Broncos went 3 of 3 in scoring scenarios to play on Sunday after starting the season 2 of 4.
The Broncos only scored three touchdowns on a field goal once last year (against Cleveland) and hadn’t been perfect on three or more occasions since Dec. 12, 2022 against Arizona. They hadn’t reached this mark in a divisional game since November 28, 2021 against the Chargers.
The touchdown pass Nix threw to Josh Reynolds in the fourth quarter was a beauty in both placement and pace.
While it may seem backwards, Jaleel McLaughlin is proving to be a better guard near the goal line than Javonte Williams. McLaughlin turned two tough looks into touchdowns this year — the fourth down against Seattle and his 4-yard score Sunday — by making you miss rather than direct power. This has never really been Williams’ strong suit, but together they’re starting to form a solid duo.
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