Now 5-2 on the season, the Broncos have won four games in a row and are beginning to get hot. Historically, Sean Payton-coached teams are great in October and November, and we're seeing that right now.
Denver has four more games until the bye; they host the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8, travel to face the Houston Texans in Week 9, and then return home for a two-game homestand against the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs in Weeks 10 and 11.
Denver should be able to win three of these next four and get to a strong 8-3 record before the bye, but until they get these early-game offensive struggles figured out, the team isn't going to emerge as a contender at all. This former NFL quarterback recently offered a very succinct and correct assessment of the offense.
Former NFL QB Dan Orlovsky says what everyone is thinking about the Denver Broncos offense
Dan Orlovsky is to the point:
Denver has to take the handcuffs off Bo Nix early in games
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) October 22, 2025
He needs to pay it off if they do by making the throws downfield when there.
It does feel like Sean Payton is calling a very conservative game early on and trying to protect whatever he wants to protect. There aren't many shots down the field, and usually a ton of short-gainers and screens to the running backs and wide receivers.
I guess on the one hand, it's a good idea to start off with some easy yards, but the Broncos simply haven't been able to execute much of what Payton calls, which isn't ideal. There's also an entirely different discussion about the constant personnel substitutions.
Anyway, Orlovsky is also correct in saying that Bo Nix has to hit the downfield throws when called. He hasn't always done that this year, but his receivers have also dropped the ball a good bit. It's really a bit of a mixed bag with the offense early in the game.
Sean Payton is really 'hand-cuffing' Bo Nix early in the game, as Orlovsky points out, but maybe he does want to get his young QB settled into the game a bit more. What is encouraging, though, is that when the Broncos 'gotta have it,' Bo Nix has been flat-out money and has played out of his mind when trailing this year.
It's not like the Denver Broncos are totally inept on offense - they rank 17th in points scored, but the unit simply needs more consistency early in the game, and opening things up earlier in the game could fix this issue.