The Denver Broncos have lost two games in a row, and things don't feel great right now, but now is not the time to panic. At this time in 2024, the Broncos had just won their first game of the season; it was a blowout win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That game began to show us why the Broncos used a first-round pick on Bo Nix. Nix and the offense had looked quite awful up to that point, but things looked a lot smoother in Week 3, and the team really caught a wind in the middle of the season.
Anyway, the team is again 1-2 and again faced with some sloppy offensive play. However, the defense has also not held up their end of the bargain, so it's just been far from ideal at this point. Despite the slow start, there really isn't any reason to panic.
The Broncos have many reasons to not yet panic
I am guilty of thinking the sky is falling sometimes, and it is sometimes hard to see the optimism in the team losing two games in a row on last-second field goals, but there is a silver lining here. The Broncos were on the road against the Colts and Chargers, two extremely well-coached teams, and they had a lead at the end of the fourth quarter.
Had the Broncos not committed a rare 'leverage' penalty against Indy or simply completed one of their deep passes against the Chargers, this team is easily 2-1 or even 3-0. Denver had each game 'won' as the time was ticking down.
They didn't get blown out or anything, so that's one reason to not panic. Furthermore, Sean Payton is historically a .500 coach in September, but wins nearly 70% of his games in October and November. In each year of his tenure with the Broncos, Payton's teams have really turned it on after a slow start.
In October and November of the 2023 and 2024 NFL seasons, here are the Broncos' records:
2023: 6-2
2024: 5-3
During each eight-game stretch in 2023 and 2024, the Broncos had a point differential of +19 and +55, respectively. Given this two-year history, the Broncos should expect to win five or six games over the next two months and have a point differential of around +37.
The Broncos have one more game in September, and it's a Monday Night Football showdown against the Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals. Denver should be able to win that game by double-digits, so they could begin the months of October and November with a 2-2 start.
Denver could find itself with an 8-4 or 7-5 record when December rolls around. They were 7-5 through 12 games in the 2024 NFL Season. When you look at the bigger picture here, the Broncos are still in a good spot, and there isn't yet a reason to panic.