Sadly, the Denver Broncos were very bad in several categories during the 2022 season. The accumulation of several things resulted in the dismissal of the coaching staff after one year under Nathaniel Hackett.
The thing is, the team’s new ownership did not hire Hackett—Joe Ellis did. With Ellis out of the picture, the Walton-Penner group decided it was in the team’s best interest to move on from Hackett. They chose Sean Payton after a while, giving up some draft picks in the trade to acquire him.
It’s been seven seasons since the Super Bowl 50 victory. It’s been that long since their last playoff appearance. Things need to change now and they really should under Payton’s guidance. No more of the first-time head coach nonsense. My hope and expectation is that Payton will transform quarterback Russell Wilson back to what he has been in the past with the Seattle Seahawks.
My hope is that there will be a complete 180 from what this team has been over the last several years. Where has this team gone wrong lately? Let’s check out some stats they have to improve on in 2023 if they want to see a major turnaround.
3 key stats that must improve for Denver Broncos in 2023
Points For: For the 2022 season, the Denver Broncos scored the least amount of points of any NFL team: 287, which equates to 16.9 points per game over a 17-game season. Denver won their season finale against the Chargers by a score of 31-28, but also lost games against the Rams by a score of 51-14, and the Carolina Panthers by a score of 23-10.
That being said, close games are not what the Broncos want. Well, close losses aren’t what this team wants. Ideally, in 2023, Russell Wilson will come back to life and not rank 20th in touchdown passes (with 16 in 15 games). In comparison, that’s how many touchdown passes Jimmy Garoppolo had… in four fewer games. Garoppolo missed six games while Wilson missed two.
Wilson had more than one touchdown passes in just three games last year.
Last season, the Broncos scored just 11 touchdowns on the ground. Only four teams had less: Tampa Bay, Indianapolis, Houston, and Washington. Last year’s leading rusher for the Broncos, Latavius Murray, is no longer with the team as he signed with the Bills this offseason. Russell Wilson was second on the team in rushing touchdowns with three.
Javonte Williams went down with a torn ACL in Week 4 and while he’s expected to be alright for the 2023 season, torn ACLs aren’t exactly something that players return from completely. I won’t pretend to be a doctor, but it would not surprise me if the Broncos decide to rely on guys like Samaje Perine, Tyler Badie, and another guy as Javonte Williams gets back to form early in the season.
I’m not saying they should keep the training wheels on him for an extended period of time, but it’s better to be safe. Who knows, though, maybe his recovery will end up being miraculous.
In terms of special teams, the Broncos, under kicker Brandon McManus, were not good. The team ranked 28th in field goal percentage (77.8 percent) and 92.6 percent on extra points. In comparison, the Broncos were 25th in extra point conversions. Just five teams converted every single extra point attempt.
Defensive Interceptions: While the Denver Broncos finished the 2022 season with 15 defensive interceptions, it does not hurt to want more, especially in a division that has Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert.
Outside of safety Justin Simmons’ five picks, the Broncos had three players reach two interceptions and another three players had one apiece. Sadly, none of those interceptions resulted in defensive touchdowns. Had they, some of the team’s one-score losses could have ended up being wins.
The Broncos no longer have Ronald Darby to pair with Patrick Surtain II, which sucks, although he missed most of the 2022 season with a torn ACL.
Denver added cornerback Riley Moss in the 2023 NFL Draft. While his role on the team isn’t completely known, the Broncos haven’t done much at the position to make me feel like Moss will be an afterthought. He could be put into the fire immediately.
Injuries: Last year, the Denver Broncos were tied with the Tennessee Titans for having the most players placed on injured reserve at some point during the season. That number is a staggering 23. That also includes the third-most amount of cap space placed on injured reserve at over $67 million.
While I would have hoped to have had a better record than 5-12 even with an injured team, you can’t tell me that it wasn’t a major part of the team’s failures last year.
Among the players on injured reserve:
- WR Tim Patrick
- RB Javonte Williams
- LT Garett Bolles
- CB Ronald Darby
- OLB Randy Gregory
- RB Mike Boone
- S Caden Sterns
- C Lloyd Cushenberry
- ILB Jonas Griffith
I'm not sure how much better this team would have been had these players not been placed on injured reserve at some point during the season (with a few of them missing the entire year), but maybe we could have squeaked out a couple of more wins.
The Broncos hired a new strength and conditioning coach Dan Dalrymple this offseason to replace Loren Landow. We'll see if this move makes a huge difference going forward. My bet is that it will be a good move. Or, at least that's my hope.