For new Broncos captain Quinn Meinerz, Week 1 was a ‘wake-up call’

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Quinn Meinerz signed a life-changing contract just before the start of Denver Broncos training camp this summer. His teammates voted him as one of the team’s captains, earning him that role for the first time in his four-season career.

But Week 1 did not go as he would have hoped. Meinerz didn’t play like himself.

“Yeah, I would say some of my problems, I wasn’t doing the techniques that I’ve been coached to do all training camp,” he said. “Just kind of wasn’t keeping my feet underneath myself, wasn’t using my hands like I normally do.”

The result was a game that was among the most frustrating of his career.

Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz, on his Week 1 performance: "I wasn't doing the techniques that I've been coached to do all training camp. Just kind of wasn't keeping my feet underneath myself, wasn't using my hands like I normally do. And so, it was good to have that feedback of… pic.twitter.com/8duTisz6H2

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 11, 2024

Per the data compiled by Pro Football Focus, it marked the first time in 40 starts over four NFL seasons that Meinerz had 3 quarterback hits at his expense. Four times he’d allowed contact twice in a game — last year against New England, in 2022 versus Jacksonville and at Carolina, and in 2021 at Kansas City — but never three times.

Quinn Meinerz was hard on himself, but he felt like it was with good reason.

“Well, for one, it’s the truth, and for two, the film doesn’t lie,” he said.

“And so you can look at the film and see me not being myself and my normal self of the way I play these games. So it was definitely a little bit of a wake-up call for myself.

“And so, I’m looking to improve this week, attack practice a little bit different and really come into this game with a little bit more confidence in doing what I do.”

It was a shaky week all around for the offensive line, at least in pass protection. The unit ranked 20th in the league in pass-block win rate, per ESPN Analytics. That’s a far cry from the No. 8 ranking it had last year.

And while the unit ranked No. 6 in the NFL in run-block win rate according to ESPN Analytics, the running backs struggled to 3.2 yards per carry.

“It wasn’t good enough,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “There were too many 2- to 3-yard gains. When you look at Javonte [Williams] and Jaleel’s [Mclaughlin] numbers, we have to be more effective there and that’s something we talked about in the team meeting [Monday].”

And that assessment Monday led to more teaching Wednesday — and for Quinn Meinerz, a simple lesson: What he has shown for three seasons — and on the practice field — can get him where he needs to go, leaving Week 1 nothing more than an unpleasant memory.

“It was good to have that feedback of knowing that the technique that I do during practice is more than good enough for a game,” Meinerz said, “and I gotta trust that.”