In the cutthroat world of professional football, it pays to be your harshest critic. The positive vibes surrounding the impressive debut performance of Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix have created excitement, but the coaches weren’t thrilled with one aspect of the game.
In the Broncos’ 34-30 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, several ball-handling mishaps turned a potential blowout into a rather close game. When you consider how much Broncos head coach Sean Payton had underlined getting a win, identifying where improvements are needed is of paramount importance.
“There’s going to be a lot of tape that we like,” Payton said post-game on Sunday. “Then there’s going to be a handful of things that we’ve got to clean up. And really, when you look at ball security issues—we had four fumbles. That has to be better.”
The multiple penalties Denver drew at Lucas Oil Stadium will also be concerning to Payton, but holding onto the ball was most bothersome overall. Putting the ball on the ground cannot be allowed to happen in regular season games when the stakes are that much higher, so Payton’s concern is legitimate.
“When I get over being upset with them. So, there’s a time there,” Payton admitted he fumes over fumbling the ball. “But those are lessons and pretty soon, they’re lessons that can’t happen. That was something I talked about last night. I told the coaches, ‘That’s one concern I have is ball security in this game coming in.’ It kind of manifested kind of how I thought unfortunately, I mean, they do a good job of holding players up, stripping the ball—that was Audric’s (Estime) turnover. We had the exchange problem late in the game, and then, obviously, those are things that you hope to be cleaning up before the regular season starts.”
While starting running back Javonte Williams saw limited time on Sunday, the No. 2 Jaleel McLaughlin flashed yet again. McLaughlin’s journey toward being a multi-task back continues.
Indeed, Payton’s general overview of how the Broncos’ running backs performed was positive, despite the obvious errors in securing the ball. Samaje Perine had a bobbled pass that was picked off, while the rookies, Estime and Blake Watson both put the ball on the ground. Even McLaughlin dropped a gimme screen pass from Nix.
“They all had a spark,” Payton said. “I thought starting at the top, Javonte had enough carries. He had a couple catches. Jaleel certainly provided a spark. Samaje played more in the third down and then I would say the two younger players and then (Tyler) Badie did a good job. They all gave us some plays. Now, the two rookies had the ball on the ground. One was a touchdown, and the other one, obviously we were able to recover, but a significant play later in the game. So those are the things that you’ve got to make sure you clean up and those guys will learn from that.”
There were several big improvements to offset the ball security issues. The Broncos totaled more than 400 yards from scrimmage, moved the chains on third down, and were efficient in the red zone. One thing sure to make Payton smile — zero sacks surrendered.
Preseason Game 2 against the Green Bay Packers this weekend should give Payton and company time to emphasize to the running back room, especially the rookies, how important it is to secure the ball. With a 17-game schedule on deck, there’s no time like the present to iron out the biggest wrinkles.
