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The 2026 Broncos' offense is the franchise's worst since the merger (so far)

By yards per play, no Bronco offense has been this bad relative to league average - and it's not close
ByJoe Mahoney
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Oct 4, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Denver Broncos running back Tyler Badie (left) celebrates with offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey (69) and guard Quinn Meinerz (77) after scoring on a two-point conversion against the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Oct 4, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Denver Broncos running back Tyler Badie (left) celebrates with offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey (69) and guard Quinn Meinerz (77) after scoring on a two-point conversion against the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The best offense in Denver Broncos (and NFL history) was the 2013 Broncos offense. That offense averaged 18.1 percent more yards per play (YPP) than the league average.

The next best was the 2008 offense, which averaged 17.5 percent more than the league average. Only two other Bronco teams had offenses that were 15 percent or better than average - the 1998 and the 2000 teams.

On the other side of the ledger, the worst Bronco offenses in history (since the merger) averaged 8.6 percent fewer yards per play than the league average. Those were the 2011 and 2019 teams.

2026 Denver Broncos has nowhere to go but up

Through the first six games, the 2026 Broncos offense was second-to-last in YPP and was 17.1 percent below league average - at 4.40. In terms of YPP allowed rankings, Broncos opponents are shown in the table below.

Opponent

YPP Allowed

Rank

Kansas City

4.81

6

Jacksonville

5.82

27

LA Rams

4.85

7

San Francisco

4.75

4

LA Chargers

5.40

19

Seattle

3.96

1

The Denver offense got right against the Cardinals' defense, gaining a season-high 378 yards on 61 plays (two were kneel-downs). That is 6.20 YPP for the game, which moved the Broncos all the way up to 26th in the NFL (this is being edited during the Monday night game) at 4.73 YPP.

The average YPP after the Sunday games was 5.33, so the Broncos are only 11.3% below average. While that's still the worst in the Broncos' team history, it is a significant improvement over the first six games. The Cardinals are currently the second-worst defense in the NFL in YPP allowed at 6.1.

So far this is the worst Bronco offense since the merger

Four of the seven defenses that the Broncos have faced are in the top 7 right now in YPP allowed. Against those three "bad" defenses, the Broncos offense did this: 62 plays against the Jags for 392 yards - 6.32 YPP; 6.20 YPP against the Cardinals; and 62 plays against LAC for 224 yards - 3.61 YPP.

Against a defense that has allowed 5.40 YPP so far this season, the Broncos' offense got 3.61. The Bronco offense's YPP in the other four games was: 3.45 vs KC, 3.83 vs LAR, 4.48 vs SF, and 2.80 vs SEA.

Part of this is a fault of the Broncos' run game, which is one of the worst in the NFL right now. The addition of Jonah Coleman was a big boost to the run game on Sunday. Bronco RBs on Sunday had 18 carries for 83 yards (4.6 YPC). With Bo Nix gaining a bunch of yards with his legs, the Broncos' offense topped 150 yards rushing for the first time this season.

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