Sean Payton's seat is officially hot in Denver following one of the more pathetic efforts we've seen from the Broncos, which really says something, considering the team hasn't had a winning season since the Obama administration.
The Broncos scored just two field goals on Sunday in Denver and were all sorts of pathetic on offense. The team's main running back still appears to be Javonte Williams, who amassed a grand total of 17 rushing yards on 11 carries and seemed to have the burst and agility of Terrell Davis if he were to be in a backfield today. No slight to Davis, who I'm sure can still bounce a few at 51, but Williams simply looks awful.
Payton, however, continues to use Williams as some sort of bell cow and has a fixation with using him on first down, which has consistently led to the Broncos being behind the chains on second down, and with a rookie quarterback and skill-less receiving core, is a recipe for disaster.
Broncos receivers fared better this week than they did in Seattle, but that is like saying Manny Ramirez's second snap of the Super Bowl was better than his first: the bar was at the floor. Josh Reynolds provided a spark for the Broncos on a few occasions, highlighted by his massive reception on a fun trick play. On the other hand, if your biggest reception was on a trick play... that doesn't bode well for the rest of the game.
Troy Franklin did not exist on Sunday, and Marvin Mims was used a little more effectively, but still sparingly. Due to the lack of legitimate threats, Courtland Sutton is consistently catching the best coverage from the opposition and is given virtually no chance.
Payton's play calling shows that either Bo Nix is unable to throw the ball over the middle of the field and moderately deep, or that Payton has no confidence in him, which either way, is pretty bad. Payton's play calling has been bland, uninspiring, and seemingly scared of the first down marker. Nix is consistently throwing the ball short of the chains, into tough coverage, or into a lousy check-down to a running back that stood no chance.
All of this considered, the Broncos are in trouble. If it were not for the dumpster fire that is football in Charlotte, North Carolina, we would be talking about the Broncos having the worst team in football. Yet again, Broncos fans are being pushed to pay more attention to college football than their own team just two weeks into the year, and there doesn't seem to be a tangible reason for hope of turning it around.
We all knew Payton would tear this thing down, but so far his major investment, overturning the offense, has paid no dividends and has minimal signs of hope. His seat is officially getting hot. The only thing worse than this week would have been if Russell Wilson had started and beat the Broncos in Denver.