Week 1 ended up being a huge letdown for the Denver Broncos. It was the beginning of the Sean Payton era in Denver, but ended with a thud.
After beginning the season 0-1 with a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Broncos now try to bounce back in Week 2 against the 1-0 Washington Commanders. Starting the year off 0-2 would be quite the hole to climb out of, especially in a division featuring Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert.
As the Broncos prepare for Washington, there are three players, specifically, who cannot afford to have a bad game this weekend.
1. Damarri Mathis, CB
Maybe the worst player on the field last week for the Denver Broncos was cornerback Damarri Mathis. He was responsible for giving up both passing touchdowns by Jimmy Garopollo. In fact, Mathis allowed eight receptions on nine targets that game, good for a completion percentage of 88.9.
Mathis also missed a tackle and ended up allowing Garoppolo a passer rating of 150.2. He couldn't have played much worse than he did, and the Broncos absolutely have to get a better performance out of him against Washington.
Sam Howell may not be an All Pro quarterback, but he has a couple of top-notch weapons in wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson. These are two guys who have the ability to make big plays on any given down. If Mathis allows the type of performance he did in Week 1, then Washington is going to put up a fair amount of points.
2. Randy Gregory
Last week, the Broncos' pass rush failed to generate even a single sack against Jimmy Garoppolo and the Raiders. It was too familiar of a problem for a Broncos team that finished toward the bottom of the league last year, with just 36 sacks all season as a team.
One of the guys, specifically, who struggled to gain any traction in this area was veteran pass rusher Randy Gregory. Playing a total of 40 snaps on defense, Gregory tallied a disappointing zero pressures. You read that right; no pressures, hurries, hits, sacks, etc. Gregory was a non-factor in rushing the passer.
Gregory earned just a 50.2 grade in the pass rush department from Pro Football Focus in that game, and justifiably so. To be fair, Frank Clark and Jonathon Cooper weren't much better either.
For a team that traded away Bradley Chubb a season ago, Gregory was someone this defense was counting on in a big way when it came to getting after the quarterback. Going up against a team like Washington, with a young and inexperienced quarterback in Howell, the Broncos are going to need to see much more out of Gregory.
3. Russell Wilson, QB
In the first half against Las Vegas last week, quarterback Russell Wilson threw for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It was a promising start to the season, a year after Wilson looked as though he could be on a significant downward trend. Then, in the second half, Wilson threw for only 52 yards and the Broncos' offense sputtered, failing to get anything going.
Some may not realize this, but Washington had one of the best pass defenses in all of football last year, giving up just over 191 yards per game through the air. Wilson might end up having wide receiver Jerry Jeudy back, which would certainly help. But, no matter what, it is on Wilson to step up and help this offense move the chains.
Wilson needs help from his offensive line and Sean Payton, in the play-calling department, but he and this offense cannot afford to be conservative in the least bit. This is a team that went all-in on not just Wilson, but Payton, too. The veteran quarterback has to show up and prove that Week 1 doesn't define this team, or even him as a passer.
Patience will grow exponentially thin if Wilson puts forth another mediocre or bad effort against the Commanders.