This Denver Broncos offense has problems, and there’s no other way to put it. Through four weeks, the Broncos have only scored a grand total of 13 first-half points.

Even with the Broncos' late-game heroics, that’s not nearly good enough. It’s a conglomeration of suck, and it’s a big reason the Broncos lost 24-14 to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

You can point to play-calling if you want to, as well as execution and miscues from skill players all over the field. There are issues with the offensive line in both run blocking and pass protection.

To be honest, though, one of the biggest reasons for the Broncos' offensive ineptitude is quarterback Bo Nix.

It’s difficult to nail down all the culprits of the notorious slow starts for this offense, but there were several missed opportunities to push the ball downfield, as Nix opted for check-downs, especially in the first half. 

Nix struggled against the 49ers, finishing the day 25-of-42 for 214 yards and a touchdown. He only completed two passes beyond 10 yards, and 14 of his completions went to running backs out of the backfield. 

This isn’t a full indictment of Nix, but it needs to be talked about on a much larger scale. He has to get better at letting plays develop and fully opening the play designs. There was a lot of meat left on the bone this week, particularly in the first half. 

I typically don’t like pausing plays because it dilutes the context, but I did so at the top of Nix’s drop to show the pocket, route concept, and the windows where Nix misses some explosive opportunities. The tape doesn’t lie.

First Quarter | 6:35 | 2nd-and-4

Most of Nix’s issues stem from escaping the pocket too early or coming off his progressions too quickly. Our first play highlights this on what could have been a massive gain to Engram. 

Denver comes out in 13 personnel and runs a two-man concept designed to target Engram on a crossing route. I paused this play at the top of Nix’s drop to show the protection and the window that Nix has to throw into. With max protection and a great pocket to step into, Nix has to rip this ball right when he hits his back foot. 

San Francisco is in a Cover 3 look here, and safety Ji’Ayir Brown is sitting in his shallow zone with his eyes on Nix. Marvin Mims Jr. runs a vertical route to clear out the cornerback, opening a massive hole for Engram to run into. There’s no way Brown can recover in time to get his hands on this ball, but Nix double-clutches and checks down to Harvey for a minimal gain.

This is a massive miss from Nix, and an inexcusable one considering the amount of time he had to let this develop. 

First Quarter | 4:30 | 2nd-and-8

It’s not all on the quarterback, though. You need your playmakers to make plays. 

A few plays later, Nix gets let down by Jaylen Waddle on a crossing route. This is what a third-year quarterback should look like. He hits the top of his drop, moves his eyes to Harvey coming out of the backfield to draw the linebacker, then fires a missile to Waddle over the middle of the field.

Waddle has to make this catch. The ball is a little bit high, but that’s no excuse for a veteran wide receiver. 

First Quarter | 3:18 | 1st-and-20

After a Mike McGlinchey holding penalty set the offense up in a bad situation, Nix comes off his progression too fast, missing a big play over the middle of the field. This is a frustrating play because Nix has all day to throw this football.  

Davis Webb calls up a “dagger” concept for Waddle and Pat Bryant, with Waddle taking the top off on the post route and Bryant on the fig. San Francisco only brings four rushers, and Denver’s offensive line blocks it up perfectly. 

Rather than allowing Bryant to open up down the field, Nix checks it down to Engram in front of linebacker Fred Warner, who forces the incompletion. There are no defenders within 10 yards of Bryant over the middle of the field, and Nix’s decision to check it down keeps the offense off schedule.

He has to let plays develop when he has time. There’s no reason to check this play down. 

First Quarter | 3:11 | 2nd-and-20

On the next play, Webb calls a Sean Payton staple: a swing route under the dagger concept. This is designed to draw the cornerback up the field and open the window to the dig route behind it. 

Nix does right by pump-faking towards Mims on the swing route, but gets flustered in the pocket by pressure from his right side. Instead of stepping up and driving a throw to the dig, he double-clutches and checks down to Harvey in the right flat, right in front of the slot defender playing in an underneath zone. 

Sometimes as a quarterback, you have to be willing to take a hit in the pocket. If Nix were to keep his eyes up and stand his ground, he could have hit Bryant for a nice chunk gain to get the offense back on track.

This play is a little bit more difficult because of the pressure from McGlinchey’s side, but not an impossible ask for a third-year quarterback with experience in the system. We saw Drew Brees make this exact same read for years under Payton with the New Orleans Saints. 

Back-to-back plays with back-to-back misses on the same concept to the same player. Bad look for Nix here. 

Second Quarter | 1:36 | 1st-and-10

After a San Francisco field goal to tie the game, the Broncos are set up at the 20-yard line due to a special teams snafu on the kickoff. Webb dials up a “scissors” concept with Troy Franklin and Bryant, and Nix has to check down to Harvey to avoid pressure in the middle of the offensive line. 

Bryant is running the post pattern on the concept, and Franklin’s speed pulls the post safety up the field, opening a massive window between the hash marks. This would have been a massive gain, potentially setting up the Broncos' offense deep in field-goal range. 

This isn’t entirely on Nix due to the pressure, but again, sometimes it’s necessary to step up and deliver a throw when you get hit in the chops in the pocket. You have to play with some anticipation in the line of fire. That’s big-boy quarterbacking, and an unfortunate necessary evil of the position.

The Takeaway

Again, not everything is Nix's fault.

Poor execution from the offensive line, drops from his receivers, and even some sequencing from his play caller have hampered the offense as a whole. But the fact is, Nix touches the football on every play, and the offense can only go as far as he can take it, even when adversity strikes. Take notice that all the plays in this breakdown came from the first half.

Nix made a couple of incredible plays in this game, including a couple of scrambles where he found explosive plays out of nothing. He hit Tyler Badie for a huge gain early in the first quarter while rolling to his left, as well as finding Bryant for an explosive play while escaping pressure as the pocket broke down. 

There is some magic in Nix's play, but the frustrating consistency issues continue to be a problem. If he can start hitting on some of the plays I laid out above, this offense can look much more consistent and explosive, while taking pressure off the defense in late-game situations.

Bottom line, Nix has to be better. Plain and simple. 

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