The Broncos must discover their idenity before they're lost in the mix

The Denver Broncos are currently wandering this world we call the NFL without an identity. Teams that succeed have one. The Chiefs rely on their run game while being able to keep defenses in check with Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice. But they always fall back on one thing: Patrick Mahomes will make a play when a play needs to be made.

Furthermore, look at another incredible team at this time, the San Francisco 49ers. Christian McCaffrey runs that offense. Whether it’s on the ground or in the air, he’s their identity on offense. Players like Deebo, Aiyuk, and Kittle are all insane complementary pieces that Brock Purdy has available but when push comes to shove, McCaffrey is their go-to. That’s their identity.

My final example is of a team that hasn’t had the same success as the first two but that’s not for lack of an identity—the Buffalo Bills. Every single year we see this team at the top of the standings being led by Josh Allen. Their identity has been fluid but a consistent attack of running the ball mixed with one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the league, right there constantly keeps them in contention because when the plans go awry, Allen will find a way to keep them in it.

This is what the Broncos need to discover. What is their identity going to be? Does it have to be an offense? The examples I mentioned above on offense are offense-driven because the league is offense-driven. That doesn’t mean every team has to be that way, but right now the defense is the far much better group in Mile High. If you think back to Super Bowl 50, the offense wasn’t the key there. It was a legendary all-time defense aka “No Fly Zone” that shut the Carolina Panthers down along with Von Millers heroics.

Now, almost a decade later, the league has gone more offensive as stated above and the Broncos just haven’t caught on. They’ve consistently had an over-average defense with their key cornerstone players even playing on that side of the ball. But if they don’t want to get further lost in the mix, Bo Nix and this offense are going to have to figure out what their identity is and what they’re going to do when their scripted game plan gets busted.

I trust Sean Payton and I still believe in Bo Nix. The Broncos need a lot of help in their offensive game plan but as long as they are willing to look in the mirror and figure out what works and then stick to that, they’ll eventually find themselves on the scoreboard consistently while also finding ways to win games when the odds are stacked against them.