The Denver Broncos were doubted all offseason after winning the AFC West in 2025 and hosting the AFC Championship Game. Unfortunately, in a disturbing Week 1 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Broncos proved the doubters right.
There is still a lot of season left to be played, but the Broncos have a lot of issues to correct after what we all just witnessed in a 31-10 beatdown at the hands of Patrick Mahomes, Kenneth Walker, and the seemingly rejuvenated Chiefs.
The Broncos didn't look right from the very first drive of the game, and were plagued by some of the worst tackling we've seen from the defense in recent memory, more issues with the running game offensively, and arguably the worst game of Bo Nix's pro career.
There were still some silver linings from the loss, but they are few. Let's take a look at the biggest losers from the team's ugly loss that has many fans in Broncos Country wondering whether or not this team is a pretender.
Loser category unfortunately dominates Broncos' Week 1 debacle vs. Chiefs
Bo Nix, quarterback
The performance we saw from Broncos quarterback Bo Nix against the Chiefs in Week 1 was, unfortunately, par for the course for the other Week 1 games he's played in the NFL.
Nix struggled badly in his rookie debut against the Seahawks in 2024, and he was extremely sloppy in 2025 against the Titans. At least against the Titans, the Broncos found a way to make enough plays to win the game.
Nix completed 17-of-27 passes against the Chiefs for just 131 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. It was a brutal performance outside of just one drive, and it also included three fumbles from Nix. He hasn't had more than 4 fumbles in a season so far as a pro.
The lack of ball security was upsetting, but Nix never could get in rhythm in this game, either. His receivers let him down with some drops, and he took four sacks. Even though Nix has had some rough games in the past, his struggles with fumbling and being sacked against the Chiefs were a bit alarming, to say the least.
Alex Singleton, linebacker
The Broncos' defense had a jaw-dropping 28 missed tackles against the Kansas City Chiefs, and a team-leading 5 of them came from captain Alex Singleton.
Singleton also drew a personal foul penalty for unnecessary roughness after one of his missed tackles. A moment of frustration caused him to lose his cool momentarily.
Even with a team-leading 15 tackles in this game, Singleton is supposed to be a veteran tone-setter in the middle of the Denver defense, and he was anything but that against the Chiefs. Kenneth Walker ran all over Denver's defense to the tune of 173 yards and a touchdown, averaging an unacceptable 7.5 yards per carry.
The unpopular decision to bring Singleton back this offseason is already looking like a potential disaster.
Broncos' star wide receivers
Where exactly where Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton in this game against the Chiefs?
Waddle and Sutton were targeted a total of 8 times, and they combined for three receptions and just 13 yards. It was an atrocious outing for two players expected to lead the Broncos' passing game in 2026, but maybe especially disappointing from Waddle.
Although Waddle was targeted just three times in the game, he dropped a key 3rd down target that was right on the money from Bo Nix, and could have extended a potential scoring drive.
When nothing else offensively is working, the duo of Sutton and Waddle has to be working. Those guys have to be the constants for Bo Nix, and they were nowhere to be found against the Chiefs.
Nik Bonitto, outside linebacker
With Patrick Mahomes coming off an injury and the Chiefs starting a rookie free agent at the left tackle position, outside linebacker Nik Bonitto figured to get his potential DPOY campaign off to a hot start.
Especially considering Kahlil Benson had never played a snap at left tackle going into his NFL debut, it figured to be a massive mismatch in favor of the Denver Broncos.
It wasn't.
Bonitto notched two tackles against the Chiefs, but not a single quarterback hit or sack. He was basically nowhere to be found on passing downs for the Broncos. Even with a concerted effort to rotate in other pass rushers, and even with the Chiefs emphasizing the quick passing game, the fact that Bonitto was neutralized in this game was absolutely unacceptable.
Davis Webb, offensive coordinator
Unfortunately, offensive coordinator Davis Webb has to land in the "loser" category after his first regular season game. It's not the way anyone wanted it to be, but he really left us no choice.
Head coach Sean Payton was clearly upset at halftime and after the game about the team's lack of running game, and that will be something Webb has to answer for throughout the week.
The duo of JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey combined for just 11 carries against the Chiefs, an egregious lack of commitment to the ground game. Maybe even worse than a lack of commitment was the Broncos' inability to impose their will on the ground. Even when they did run, it felt like the approach was way too much "finesse" and not nearly enough "punch".
It was a tough first game as a play-caller for Webb, and you could sense the tension from Sean Payton throughout the course of the game. If there are more games like this from Webb, it's going to be harder for Payton to keep letting him drive. At what point does he take back the keys to the car?
Bonus honorable mention: Sean payton, head coach
The Broncos have started slow in September every year of the Sean Payton era so far. It's maddeningly become his "thing", and Broncos Country is tired of it.
How could a team this good be so unprepared for the start of the season?
It's getting really tiresome to keep talking about Sean Payton's teams not beng ready to roll in September. Obviously, you'd never trade finishing a season well compared to playing great football in Week 1, but the Broncos are at the level right now where they shouldn't be starting this egregiously slow in September.
The few winners and bright spots
RJ Harvey, running back
The stats don't really tell the whole story for RJ Harvey from this game. He only had 3 carries for 18 yards and 4 receptions for 23 yards, but Harvey was truly one of the only offensive players who showed some signs of life against the Chiefs.
Even if it was tough sledding for Harvey both as a runner and after the catch as a receiver, he ran hard the whole game, and at least showed the type of effort you want to see in a game like the one we witnessed against the Chiefs.
He also added 111 yards on four kickoff returns, and did his best to try and make some plays in the return game as well. Again, it wasn't a stat line you're going to be excited about, but Harvey ran hard and made some plays in space.
Evan Engram, tight end
Evan Engram led the Denver Broncos in receiving with 43 yards on 4 receptions. He also scored the first touchdown of the season.
It was great to see Engram so involved in the offense early, and he also made some really nice plays after the catch as the game went along.
It was at least an encouraging sign for Engram to have more involvement in the offense, already matching the same touchdown total (1) he had all of last season. Last year was extremely disappointing, but maybe Davis Webb can find a way to keep him involved regularly.
Partial winner: Pat Bryant, wide receiver
The "good" from Pat Bryant is undeniable when the Broncos get him going. He's not only someone who can block in the running game (or the quick passing game), but Bryant is someone who runs the full route tree, he's explosive after the catch, and he's been one of the most consistent players all throughout training camp.
We saw why Bryant was the talk of training camp as the Broncos got him involved early and often against the Chiefs, but we also saw him make some brutal mistakes. He started running without the ball on what could have been a key 1st-down conversion in this game, and he was called for multiple holding penalties.
And those penalties were devastating.
Bryant showed off some of his route running skills as well as the burst needed to be a threat after the catch, and we're going to likely see him as a focal point of the offense all season.
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