Broncos found their formula with early haymakers and second-half jabs

TAMPA, Fla. — The Denver Broncos aren’t going to win in 2024 with elegance.


Their passing game is a long way from possessing the consistent explosiveness and flair on display from the New Orleans Saints’ aerial attack during the imperial phase of the Sean Payton-Drew Brees partnership.

Their running game is still led by their quarterback, Bo Nix, who remains the team’s leading ballcarrier — although Tyler Badie is poised to wrest that title away if he gets more opportunities following a 43-yard cutback run in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 26-7 win.

But their defense has spent all but a 20-minute chunk of Week 1 dealing one haymaker after another. And on Sunday, the Broncos’ offense delivered an opening uppercut before draining the life out of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a series of jabs that knocked all energy out of a team that came into Week 2 rolling.

And it was exactly the way Sean Payton wanted it. Because when the Broncos won the coin toss by calling heads, he elected to take the football rather than deferring the team’s option to the second half, as is customary.

“Yeah, well, he wanted to be aggressive. I think he made that decision just off of making a fast start,” Nix said.

“I wasn’t necessarily shocked by it, but whatever he wanted to do, that’s what we were doing.”

It worked.

Too often, the Broncos play Charlie Messaround with these sorts of scenarios. Sunday, they got right to the point.

“Every once in a while, you send a little message and we felt like we had a good set of openers,” Payton said.

And when Nix hit Courtland Sutton for 22 yards down the left sideline and found a streaking Josh Reynolds for a 31-yard grab down the right flank two plays later, the Broncos were in position to complete a quick 6-play, 70-yard drive that staggered the Bucs to where they never fully recovered.

“We came out and did exactly what we wanted. We went down and got a touchdown. And that think that set the tempo, set the tone for the game,” Nix said.

Indeed, Tampa Bay came into Sunday having won eight of its last 10 games, playing its best football since 2021. But the Broncos’ opening punch left the Bucs staggering and wobbly.

For most of the following 30 minutes of play, Denver’s defense delivered the blows. This was expected, right down to cornerback Riley Moss calling his shot last Wednesday when he talked about Buccaneers wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and said, “They’re not going to run past us.”

It was a bold statement. Then Moss, Pat Surtain II, Brandon Jones, Ja’Quan McMillian and P.J. Locke spent nearly three hours backing it up. Tampa Bay didn’t have one passing play longer than 13 yards.

AND THAT SET UP THE BRONCOS FOR THE KNOCKDOWN JABS

And those came in the form of a grueling 79-yard march covering the last half of the third quarter and a smidgen of the fourth. The only disappointment came in settling for a field goal, but by consuming 7 minutes and 57 seconds of clock time after leading 20-7 prior to the possession, the Broncos had done something at least as important as adding points to their total: they’d drained valuable minutes from the clock.

The Bucs still trailed by two scores — 23-7 — following Denver’s grueling march through their exhausted defense, but for all intents and purposes, the job was virtually complete. A turnover on downs and a subsequent field goal effectively ended the day.

Sean Payton talks about the Broncos' 79-yard drive in the second half that took nearly eight minutes of game-clock time: pic.twitter.com/0nIE5eROMT

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 22, 2024

The drive was the culmination of a body of work that saw the Broncos knock down the Bucs immediately — and then, with the exception of a Javonte Williams fumble, yank away every chance at a Tampa Bay lifeline.

“It was impressive and I mean, it just shows we game-planned them extremely well,” Broncos tight end Adam Trautman said.

“Obviously, Sean has a lot of experience — and our whole offensive staff because everyone came from New Orleans — he knows how to game-plan this defense. And I thought we had answers to pretty much everything they were doing. So, obviously it helped us sustain drives.”

Broncos TE Adam Trautman, on the team's 79-yard drive that consumed 7:57 of the second half Sunday: "It was impressive and I mean, it just shows we game-planned them extremely well. … I thought we had answers to pretty much everything they were doing." pic.twitter.com/LpUytNbOGR

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 22, 2024

Answers. Responses. Punches.

For too many sorry Sundays in recent years, the Broncos seemed to have no clue about the questions being asked, let alone the answers to the questions posed by one foe after another.

Sunday’s examination — a brutal battle of attrition in the searing Florida heat — was a test that the Broncos aced. What’s more, it provides a blueprint that can sustain them for future Sundays, while also providing the support to protect Nix and his development.

The series of punches landed by the Broncos could be the best thing for getting the most of 2024 — and facilitating Nix’s development.

Sean Payton has said that you need a stout D and a strong run game to support a rookie QB.

The Broncos had one from the start Sunday. They found the other late. And in between, their passing game got into rhythm as Denver found a formula that can work in 2024.

My postgame wrap: pic.twitter.com/Gx4semZmQS

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 22, 2024