Just when you thought you might be able to move on to the next one...The Denver Broncos had a rough go against the Pittsburgh Steelers, scoring just six points, losing the turnover battle, converting just 2-of-12 on third downs, and not running the ball.
But other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?
There have been a lot of issues stemming from the Broncos' latest loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2, but the issues have quickly turned to embarrassment after a recent report from Underdog Fantasy's James Palmer. Palmer is obviously well-connected in Denver but he was in the visiting locker room after the game against the Steelers where apparently, the defensive backs were straight-up laughing at Sean Payton's game plan for rookie QB Bo Nix...
Broncos were getting laughed at by the Steelers after their Week 2 loss
This is straight up embarrassing @SeanPayton pic.twitter.com/M6KxFkBYcI
— Amir Farrell (@BroncosAve) September 20, 2024
While this is somewhat of a concerning statement, it's also kind of hilarious from the Steelers' perspective. The Broncos threw for 231 yards against Pittsburgh's defense, which isn't setting any records, but they had eight passing plays of 10+ yards against the Steelers, who had only given up 137 passing yards the week prior.
The Broncos only scored six points in the game, which is obviously bad, and the Steelers had two interceptions off of Nix as well (one in a desperation heave at the end of the game), but should Pittsburgh's defensive backfield really be laughing and bragging about having success against a rookie QB making just his second NFL start?
Especially when your production against Nix was legitimately a lot worse than it was the previous week against Kirk Cousins?
It's not a shocking revelation to anyone that the Broncos might have some two-read plays in the playbook against a defense like the Steelers. But it's not like they didn't have any success against the Steelers at all in terms of moving the ball through the air, and again -- it was only Nix's second NFL start. This would be like bragging about beating your kid in a game of Madden as an adult when they've never played the game.
There are issues with the Broncos' offense right now, to be certain. And while the Steelers laughing may be annoying, there is still some validity to what they're saying in terms of Denver's offense being predictable. The Broncos have been one of the most predictable teams in the league when running plays from under center (runs the vast majority of the time). They have struggled to get play calls in on time which has led to defenses being able to time the snap count. They almost didn't take any shots in the first half against Pittsburgh and then started to unload in the second half a little bit.
It's been frustrating at the start of the year in a variety of ways and we can only hope that this is the end of teams literally laughing at the Broncos after they've played them this season.