Sean Payton sounded off after the Denver Broncos' 20-26 loss against the Seattle Seahawks about how the team didn’t help rookie quarterback Bo Nix nearly enough to squeeze out a win.
Biggest takeaway from Sean Payton’s postgame press conference:
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) September 9, 2024
The team needs to do more to help Bo Nix. Payton not NEARLY as down on Bo as his stats would suggest.
Denver’s lack of talent continues to be evident as the team does not have the same explosiveness as their opponents. The leader in receptions versus the Seahawks was 7th-round pick Devaughn Vele with eight. That’s from a wide receiver room with the likes of Courtland Sutton, Josh Reynolds, and Marvin Mims Jr. It doesn’t make much sense.
Bo Nix got no help from his WRs today vs. Seattle
— Jordan Lopez (@JordanTLopez) September 9, 2024
Top guy in creating separation was Vele with 4.35 yards, followed by:
Dulcich with 3.92
Sutton with 2.48
Reynolds with 2.15
Lil'Jordan was at 1.58 at halftime
I understand Nix was shaky and it was expected, but man this… pic.twitter.com/3S1RiAHWEr
To make matters worse, Nix was the leading rusher during the game while still attempting to throw the ball 42 times. The running back room couldn’t get anything going either. Both Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin struggled to get anything stung together consistently.
Sean Payton when asked if he wanted to throw 42 times going into the game:
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) September 8, 2024
“Heck no”
Nix isn’t completely out of the blame game though. He missed some passes early on and ultimately tried to do too much when it mattered. Throwing two interceptions seemed out of the ordinary for a guy who has proven to take care of the ball. Though, he’s a rookie and mistakes early on are to be expected. However, if the Broncos are going to improve on last year’s 8 wins, they will need Nix to play much better than he did on Sunday.
Bo Nix is the Broncos' leading rusher.
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) September 8, 2024
He has 35 yards.
Touching on the receivers a bit more, there were some drops today as well that can’t happen as often as they did. No team is ever going to play perfectly and I don’t want to sound like I’m teeing off on the mistakes. But overall cleaning up the offense will prove to be way more beneficial down the road.
Payton on Nix: “He gave us a chance. Protection was average at best.” Too many drops. Gathered receivers at one point and said, “Man, let’s go. Let’s help this guy.”
— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) September 8, 2024
The offensive line had its woes as well. Seattle’s defensive front is no walk in the park, but left tackle Garett Bolles going down with an ankle injury combined with the consistent lack of time in the pocket didn’t help matters with Nix either. Payton did say after the game that he thought Bolles's ankle injury was just a bruise and isn’t expected to be a long-term issue.
Sean Payton said the team needs to capitalize on the turnovers more: “We got to be better. I got to be better”
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) September 8, 2024
Overall, the Broncos didn’t get off to the start that they wanted to. The offense felt sluggish and out of touch. Nix and his receivers seemed to be on different pages while the running backs looked like they were trampling through mud. Payton acknowledged that not only does the team need to be better but he needs to as well. The schedule is only getting tougher from here on out so the Broncos will need to turn the page quickly and put this game behind them. The Steelers' defense is much worse to hold back than the Seahawks. Time to wipe this game from their minds and prepare to face Russell Wilson and TJ Watt next Sunday.