2. Can the offense get explosive plays going?
The Denver Broncos' offense was actually very, very efficient last week, according to this chart:
Denver was the 2nd best O, in terms of series results
— Jordan Lopez (@JordanTLopez) September 11, 2023
The O under Payton was noticeably better and my favorite stat of them all is this:
Denver converted 10 first downs on early downs (1st and 2nd downs). This is crucial in having a great offense, avoiding 3rd down situations pic.twitter.com/rRTQVxhK0v
Fellow Predominantly Orange contributor Jordan Lopez notes that the Broncos' offense converting 10 first downs and early down situations, which is simply something we did not see in prior seasons. However, while the offense was efficient most of the game, the big issue was the lack of explosive plays, and a big reason for that was being without Jerry Jeudy for the whole game and not having Greg Dulcich for most of that contest.
Jeudy looks all but certain to return to the lineup, returning quicker than expected from a hamstring injury, so the offense should be able to get a bit more explosive with Jeudy in the lineup. Russell Wilson only threw for 177 yards on 27 completions, which is a pedestrian 6.5 yards gained per completion. Sean Payton likely encouraged Wilson to utilize his checkdowns quite a bit, but Jeudy not being in the lineup likely forced Wilson to not take as many shots.
Ideally, when Jerry Jeudy returns to the lineup on Sunday, we see the offense open up a bit.