Denver Broncos fans are hanging their heads on Sunday night... again. It's a new season, but things sure don't feel any different and now, the team has lost seven games in a row to the Las Vegas Raiders.
That's not something that should be said lightly. Seven losses in a row to the Raiders, a team that across that stretch has not been very good, says quite a bit about how far the Broncos' franchise has fallen.
Week 1 provided much of the same. The Broncos looked like the better team for a good portion of the game, but they simply could not execute when they needed to. The Broncos committed too many costly penalties and just could not get a big play when they needed to have it.
In the end, it was the Raiders who were able to convert a key 3rd-and-7 with the legs of Jimmy Garoppolo which allowed them to run out the rest of the clock. The Broncos go to 0-1, losing the season opener by the same 17-16 score that they lost the season opener last year.
Deja vu? Let's hope not.
Broncos Week 1 Loser: Damarri Mathis
No one in the Denver secondary was particularly good, and losing safety Caden Sterns in the second quarter didn't help matters. But second-year cornerback Damarri Mathis had a rough day. It seemed like every time the Raiders needed a play, they targeted Mathis in the passing game.
The Raiders did a good job shifting players to get the matchups they wanted and Garoppolo was able to make timely throws and routinely beat Mathis, whether he was matched up against Davante Adams or Jakobi Meyers.
Meyers had a nice day, catching nine passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Most of that came with Mathis in coverage.
The Broncos don't have great depth at the cornerback position, particularly with K'Waun Williams and Riley Moss hobbled by injuries. The team will have to rely on Mathis to bounce back in Week 2 and put this game behind him.
But when other teams see this game, they're going to scheme their offense to attack Mathis as well. He'll need to be much better.
Broncos Week 1 Winner: Russell Wilson
Give Russell Wilson some credit. He wasn't spectacular by any means, but he did enough in this game to make you believe that he can still be a productive quarterback in the NFL and hopefully, as he settles in more with Sean Payton, he'll be even better.
Wilson didn't make any mistakes and he didn't turn the ball over. He completed 27 of 34 passes for 177 yards in this game and threw two touchdowns. He moved around well in the pocket and made good, quick decisions with the ball.
He is nowhere near the threat he used to be with his feet, but the Broncos need to create plays that allow Wilson to make plays on the ground and if he doesn't pick up the first down, at least get into more manageable down-and-distance situations.
The Broncos lost this game, but fans should be encouraged by what they saw from Wilson.
Broncos Week 1 Loser: Pass Rush
Seriously, where was the pass rush? Not only did the Broncos not record a single sack in this game, there weren't many pressures on Garoppolo either. He had a nice, clean pocket to throw the ball from pretty much every time he dropped back.
Mathis struggled in coverage, but the fact that the Broncos weren't able to really even rattle Garoppolo didn't help matters.
The Broncos ranked toward the bottom of the league last season with just 36 sacks as a team. On Sunday, without Baron Browning, the combination of Randy Gregory, Frank Clark and Jonathon Cooper were able to get basically no pressure.
Garoppolo played better than many would have expected, but he had it pretty easy out there. This absolutely has to be corrected.
Broncos Week 1 Winner: Samaje Perine
Javonte Williams played well and it's great to see him on the field, but the Broncos running back that looked the best in this game was Samaje Perine. He had the most explosiveness out of the backfield and the Broncos should have rode him more, honestly.
Perine averaged over five yards per carry on his eight rushes and he also caught four passes. His 37 receiving yards actually led the team.
It seemed close to a 50-50 split in the backfield between Williams and Perine as the Broncos did not have No. 3 back Jaleel McLaughlin on the field much. Perine looks as though he will be a trusted option out of the backfield for Wilson all season.
But in the running game, Perine ran with power and helped push the pile.
Williams is the guy in Denver, and he should be, but Perine is a good No. 2 option and he should continue to be a key piece of this offense.
Broncos Week 1 Loser: Wil Lutz
It was only a seventh-round pick that the Broncos gave away to get Wil Lutz, but it already looks like that was a waste.
Why can't kickers in the NFL kick anymore? Seriously, it's like an epidemic. I remember teams having the same kicker for a decade, guys who hardly ever missed. Now even an extra point is an adventure.
Wil Lutz missed an extra point and a 55 yard FG.
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) September 10, 2023
The Broncos lost by one point.
Lutz missed an extra point in this game as well as a 55-yard field goal, which wasn't even close. With a more competent kicker, this game would have been a win. But who would that have been because Brett Maher and Elliott Fry would have probably missed those kicks too.
Brandon McManus sure looked good kicking the ball for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday though.
The Broncos are going to have to settle for Lutz for now as he is a Payton guy and they gave up a draft pick to get him. But the leash should be shortening and the list of available kickers who could possibly brought in should start being drafted.
Kickers need to make kicks. Or, at the very least, kickers need to make kicks much more often than they currently do.