Broncos Offense isn’t “Riding” yet

The hype around the Broncos has been the offense as everyone has known. They brought in 9-time pro bowl quarterback Russell Wilson and added him to a room of weapons. Javonte Williams is a top young running back in football. Courtland Sutton was a very good wide receiver when he had Joe Flacco, Brandon Allen, and Drew Lock. Jerry Jeudy is one of the best short route-runners in the league. Sounds like they are set to score a lot of points this year right?

Wrong.

Thank goodness they have had a top defensive unit in the NFL through 3 weeks that is keeping them afloat at 2-1 and should be 3-0 (a very weak 3-0). The offense has stunk with a capital ‘C’. Through 2 weeks, they were 0 for 6 in the red zone scoring a touchdown. Whether it was Williams or Gordon fumbling inside the 1 yard line or a tight end not getting 2 feet down in the end zone for a touchdown or a penalty away from the play washing away a touchdown. After 2 weeks, they led the NFL in yards per drive so as bad as they were scoring points, the ball was moving up and down the field which was encouraging.

Fast forward to week 3 on national TV against the 49ers and neither team wanted to get aggressive and move the ball at any cost. Regardless if it was 2 of the best defenses in the league, it was ugly. The entire offensive operation has been bad. Hackett has had good and bad spurts of play-calling, Wilson has had some good plays but also some really rough stretches connecting on easier throws, he isn’t using his mobility like he has over the past 10 years, Melvin Gordon has fumbled 3 times in 3 games (which has been a serious issue in his career prior to this year), and the offensive line hasn’t been great so it’s a mix of everything. New head coach Nathaniel Hackett comes from the Shanahan/McVay west coast system where if you remember, Aaron Rodgers struggled to get into a groove while playing in, in 2019, Matt LaFleur’s first season in Green Bay. It’s one thing to struggle to get into a groove, but it’s another thing to struggle mightily to score any touchdowns at all. We will see if this will improve going forward as the Broncos get favorable defenses to play coming up: Raiders, Chargers, Jets, Jaguars, and Titans are 5 of their next 6 games. It’s not time to totally hit the panic button as it’s only week 3, a new head coach, new system for Russ, and a new everything for both of them. But if things don’t change in the next month or so and the team isn’t scoring/isn’t winning, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are discussions to bring someone in with experience in having top offenses in football and have them link up with Russ in Denver… Sean Payton is sitting on his couch and has said he would come out of retirement for the right opportunity.