The reigning AFC West champions found out pretty quickly that 2026 might be much different than last year as the Denver Broncos were blown out 31-10 by the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.
"We just let ourselves down," Broncos quarterback Bo Nix said after Denver's season opener, according to ESPN's Jeff Legwold. Nix added, "We literally gave ourselves no chance to succeed and made it easier for them, point blank, period. ... We don't have a choice but to get better, just a nasty wake-up call."
The Broncos' offense struggled for most of the game with Nix completing 17 of his 28 passes for 131 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He was sacked four times and finished with a passer rating of 69.2.
Denver entered the season with a few new faces on offense, including star wideout Jaylen Waddle and offensive coordinator Davis Webb. Neither had the debut he hoped for. Waddle was targeted three times and finished with one catch for 2 yards, while the Broncos' 10 points scored marked their fewest in a regular-season game since Week 10 last year.
Nix described the performance as "pretty pitiful" but absolved his new offensive coordinator of blame.
"Players did not make it easy on (Webb). ... We called exactly what we prepared for. We just didn't execute," Nix said.
The Broncos host the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2. The Jaguars are coming off of a 34-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
