3 overreactions after Denver Broncos embarrassed by Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1
The Denver Broncos played horribly in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season against the Las Vegas Raiders. Let's overreact a bit after the Broncos start the season 0-1. I could have sworn I saw Nathaniel Hackett on the Broncos' sidelines on Sunday. Denver once again scored 16 points and lost what should have been a very winnable game against a bad team in the Raiders.
It was frustration, and much of what went wrong for Denver in Week 1 were some of their issues in previous seasons. The pass rush was simply nonexistent, there wasn't really much to talk about with the pass catchers, and the team struggled with bad special teams play and penalties.
Perhaps Sean Payton knows how to fix these issues, and I trust that he does. However, it's really worrisome that what transpired on Sunday felt exactly like the previous Denver Broncos' seasons. Let's overreact x3 after the Broncos Week 1 dud.
3 overreactions after Denver Broncos get embarrassed by the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1
1. The Broncos' pass rush is easily the worst in the NFL
I mean, my gosh. Where was the pass rush? The blitz-happy Vance Joseph, who was recently very complimentary of his pass rushers, couldn't get any pressure on Jimmy Garoppolo and against a bad offensive line. What exactly is the team paying Randy Gregory for? Where was Frank Clark? Where were the young pass rushers in Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto who apparently had a great camp?
I've been clamoring for months that Denver needs to do something with their pass rush. I advocated for signing Yannick Ngakoue for what feels like years now. The defensive front as a whole really just got their butts kicked on Sunday. And outside of Kolton Miller, I'm not sure the Raiders have much else along the offensive line.
This was a scary sight. Denver had one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL last year and didn't really add much to it this offseason. Perhaps Baron Browning returning to the lineup will provide a spark to this unit.