In the wake of the Denver Broncos' season-opening loss in Seattle, head coach Sean Payton bent over backward to excuse rookie quarterback Bo Nix and minimize his complicity. Payton doubled down that approach following Denver's 13-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
If the veteran coach keeps it up, the Broncos locker room could quickly start tuning Payton out. After an explosive 49-yard completion to Josh Reynolds in the third quarter (on a trick play), the Broncos failed to get precious points on the drive because Nix threw a you've-gotta-be-blind interception in the end zone.
Nix was trying to target Sutton, it seemed, and it was a horrible decision made all the worse by the result. Post-game, Payton shifted the blame to... wait for it... the receiver.
“We had a mistake in the route, too, so there are some dirty hands on that play," Payton said.
It's possible that Payton could have been talking about a different receiver, but I doubt Sutton liked hearing that from his head coach at the podium after such a pathetic loss. Even if Sutton was partly to blame for the turnover, he didn't throw the pass.
"We have a big play in the second half down six, we bust an assignment in a route, and we throw an interception," Payton said. "I think that hurt us. It was disappointing. I just finished telling the coaches that that side of the ball needs to get cleaned up. That starts with me."
For his part, Nix accepted absolute accountability for that red-zone interception.
“That falls on me," Nix said post-game. "That was just a bad decision. [You] can’t have that.”
Look, even if the receiver ran the wrong route, the quarterback is ultimately accountable for where the ball goes. In a game in which the Broncos barely crossed the 50-yard line offensively, points were in short supply, let alone red-zone opportunities.
Just when Denver finally got something cooking on a new-fangled flea-flicker of sorts, picking up 49 yards and setting the stage for the best chance Nix would get at a touchdown, he put the ball in harm's way. It was literally the worst possible decision he could have made and at some point, it would behoove Payton to hold his rookie quarterback accountable.
Not out of vengeance or even as a disciplinary matter — but because not doing so could inhibit his development. Nix has to learn, especially the hard way, that he can't rob his team of precious scoring opportunities by putting the ball in harm's way.
Nix finished the game with 246 passing yards and no touchdown passes, with a QB rating of 55.2. His final pass was also picked off, giving him four interceptions through four games. Meanwhile, Sutton totaled one reception (on four targets) for 26 yards.
To be fair, Nix has faced two of the best defensive coaches in the NFL in back-to-back games to open his career. That's unfortunate, but welcome to the NFL. Nobody's on scholarship.
Sutton isn't ready to throw in the towel on the Broncos' 2024 offense. He knows it hasn't been anywhere close to good enough, but he pushed back at the trope that Denver lacks playmaking talent on offense.
“We know that we have talent, we know that we trust in the system and the game plans being put together, it’s just we’re not executing them," Sutton said post-game. "It takes all of us, it takes all 11 of us making sure we are executing and knowing our assignments and executing to the highest level to make sure we are able to capitalize... You can scheme something as well as you want to, but sometimes guys make plays and when that happens, we have to bounce back and go out there and get the opportunity again and put something else together. It’s on us to figure that out.”
