Mike Florio ,
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The Broncos nearly stole a game from the Chargers on Sunday, even though L.A. statistically dominated.
The Chargers had 29 first downs. The Broncos had nine. The Chargers gained 376 yards from scrimmage. The Broncos gained 265.
So what did Denver coach Sean Payton think of the offensive performance around second-year quarterback Bo Nix?
“I think it was too inconsistent,” Payton told reporters on Monday. “There were too many minus plays. So yesterday was a day that I would say the job degree difficulty factor, it was a hard day to play quarterback when your average third down is third-and-11. If we’re not more efficient on first and second down, the best in our league are going to struggle with the numbers that we gave [Nix] on third down. The thing that stood out was not only the penalties that set you back offensively, but the minus plays. That has to be corrected for us to be a quality offense.”
The loss dropped the Broncos to 1-2. They nevertheless could be 3-0.
“We’re playing the schedule that we got,” Payton said. “Obviously, the last two weeks we’ve played some pretty good football teams. We think we’re one of those teams. . . . We’ve lost two games in a row, two close games with really last-second field goals. It’s disappointing, but we have to learn, ‘Why were these games this close towards the end, and how do we put ourselves in a position to finish better?’ Certainly that’s collectively all of us.”
Payton remains optimistic that things will turn his team’s way.
“There’s a stretch where you begin to win games and you play better,” Payton said. “That’s what’s due for this team. That’s what has to happen for this team. That’s what has to be on our horizon.”
The horizon arrives next Monday night, against the Bengals. But then the Broncos go to Philly on a short week.
Things soften with games against the Jets, Giants, Cowboys, Texans, and Raiders. That could be the best place to get things rolling, before a Week 11 visit from the Chiefs.
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