Broncos’ boom-or-bust offense leaves playoff hopes in jeopardy: “It doesn’t feel very good”

CINCINNATI — In recent weeks, the Broncos’ offense has been in a tug-of-war between artistry and mediocrity.

In Week 16’s loss to the Chargers, Denver scored 21 points and rushed for 89 yards in the first half, then mustered only six points and 21 rushing yards the rest of the way. On Saturday against the Bengals at Paycor Stadium, the Broncos scored just three points in the opening half before quarterback Bo Nix and the Denver offense came to life with three touchdown passes in the second half.

Despite Nix’s resilient effort and wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr.’s spectacular two-touchdown performance, Denver’s slow start resulted in a gut-wrenching 30-24 loss to the Bengals in overtime.

Denver’s boom-or-bust offense has produced two straight losses when a win in either game would’ve ended an eight-year playoff drought. And now the Broncos’ once iron-clad playoff hopes are in jeopardy, with the New York Times’ NFL playoff predictor giving them a 58% chance of making the postseason entering Sunday’s games.

“It doesn’t feel very good,” said Nix, who completed 24 of 31 passes for 219 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. “I think the only good thing that comes out of games like this is you see us battle, and you see us compete really hard. At the end of the day, if you compete really hard and fail, it’ll bring you flat on your face, but at least you’re out there competing.”

The Bengals have been one of the worst passing defenses in the league. They are seventh in passing yards allowed (231.6), tied for 10th in yards per play (6.4) and tied for fifth in touchdown passes allowed (26). Despite that, the Broncos came out flat on Saturday.

Denver’s 10-play, 58-yard scoring drive to start the game ended in a field goal. From that point on, the Broncos sputtered. Denver punted the ball on back-to-back drives before a disastrous two-minute drill to end the half. After finding DeVaughn Vele for a first down at the Cincinnati 45-yard line with just under a minute to go, Nix was sacked twice in the final 35 seconds to effectively end the scoring threat.

Third-down execution was a problem for the second straight week. In the last two games, Denver has gone 9 for 25 (36%) on third down. Against the Bengals, the team went 4 for 12 in those situations and 1 for 5 in the first half. That included three three-and-outs that Cincinnati capitalized on.

In the second quarter, Dever’s first three-and-out preceded a touchdown drive that ended with Joe Burrow finding wideout Tee Higgins for a 2-yard score and 7-3 Bengals lead. The Broncos had two more three-and-outs in OT, both of which were followed by Bengals scoring opportunities. Cade York botched the first with a 33-yard field goal miss, but Burrow made good on the second with a TD pass to Higgins.

That capped a night that saw Cincinnati control the ball for 41 minutes, 56 seconds of game action, compared to Denver’s 26:57.

“The time of possession was concerning at halftime,” head coach Sean Payton said. “We just knew offensively we had to help (the defense) out. …We had our opportunities.”

The Broncos did find a rhythm in the second half, gaining 221 yards. After carrying the ball twice for 21 yards in the first two quarters, running back Jaleel McLaughlin had eight carries for 48 yards over the final two quarters and overtime.

That allowed Nix to push the ball downfield. The rookie QB averaged 11.8 air yards per attempt in the second half compared to 2.3 in the first, according to Next Gen Stats. With his back against the wall in the final nine minutes of the fourth, Nix let the ball fly. A beautiful 51-yard touchdown pass to Mims evened the score at 17-all, and Mims’ leaping 25-yard TD grab with seconds to go in regulation sent the game to OT.