Initial thoughts from the Broncos’ 26-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3 at Raymond James Stadium in rookie quarterback Bo Nix’s first career victory.
Pardon our French: It’s pronounced Bidet, not Bay-dee. Evidently, Tyler Badie’s last name has been mispronounced by broadcasters, coaches and football fans for his entire career. Anyway, the French pronunciation seems to suit him. On a day when Javonte Williams’ RB1 stock continued to plummet, Badie took advantage. The backup who has been cut at the roster deadline two consecutive preseasons vindicated his persistence with 70 yards on nine carries Sunday, including a 43-yard explosion that helped the Broncos run out the clock. His playing time increased in the second half, while Williams received only one hand-off to finish the day with five carries, 12 yards and a fumble. It didn’t help his future prospects that Jaleel McLaughlin also made a statement, juking a defender for an improbable touchdown on fourth-and-goal.
Award-winning script: The Broncos scored a touchdown on their opening drive of a football game. We repeat: The Broncos scored a touchdown on their opening drive of a football game. They hadn’t accomplished that feat in nine games, but the scripted possession was executed to perfection in sunny Tampa Bay thanks to Bo Nix’s most encouraging display yet. He completed all four passes for 70 yards, shepherded the offense downfield with veteran poise and capped off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run for a lead Denver never relinquished. Nix’s legs remained a factor throughout the afternoon, most impressively on a third-quarter scramble for 22 yards after he detected and averted backside pressure. That’s not a quarterback trait Broncos fans are recently familiar with.
Clamps: If there’s a reason to believe the Broncos could hang around in the playoff picture late into this season, it’s that Vance Joseph has had their defense locked in and playing aggressive. His blitzes were consistently well-timed Sunday, and Patrick Surtain contained receiver Mike Evans on the back end (two catches, 17 yards). The last two weeks, the Broncos have held Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh to a combined 4.16 yards per play. Opponents are 11 for 36 (30.1%) against them on third downs this season. On top of that, they stopped a pair of fourth downs against the Buccaneers.
Easing in: Sean Payton’s high floor as a head coach is well-documented. He has never won fewer than seven games in his 16-year NFL career. But just as notable might be his knack for growing into seasons. The Broncos managed to scrape together an 8-9 record in 2023 despite losing their first three games. This time, they’ve avoided digging the dreaded 0-3 hole thanks to Sunday’s win. If 1-2 is still discouraging, consider this. The last time Payton started a season 0-2 before arriving in Denver? You have to go back to 2017, when his Saints bounced back with a 21-point win on the road against an NFC South opponent in Week 3. They went on to finish 11-5 with a division crown and a playoff win. (Only Stefon Diggs robbed Payton from an NFC title game appearance that year.)
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