Denver, CO
Broncos Mailbag: Why can’t Sean Payton figure out a way to run the dang ball?
Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season and periodically during the offseason. Click here to submit a question.
I’m not worried about Bo Nix. I doubt he’ll threaten Peyton Manning’s rookie record for interceptions. But the failure of the run game is puzzling. There seems to be a decent hole maybe three times a game. Are the blockers inadequate? Or the blocking scheme? Or the runners? KC, for example, seems to regularly use blocking angles to open holes, but I don’t see those in Denver. Payton is right, of course. They need a better running game to help Nix. So why aren’t they getting one?
— Fred Waiss, Prairie du Chien, Wis.
Hey Fred, good question and thanks for writing in and getting us going this week. The bottom line with the running game early on is something of a frustrating answer: It’s not just one thing to get cleaned up before the Broncos are off to the races. It really does seem like it’s a bit of everything.
One play it’s a missed assignment. Or the back maybe makes a cut a tick too late. Or a well-timed run blitz ruins an otherwise productive-looking play.
Then there’s the fact that the Broncos spent all this money on their offensive line — including particularly for players like right tackle Mike McGlinchey and left guard Ben Powers, whose calling cards are in the run game — and they haven’t run the ball all that much. Denver’s 35.2% run rate is fourth-lowest in the NFL through two weeks. And yes, they’ve been chasing points in games, but their first-half run rates are not dramatically different than the overall numbers so far.
A couple of other considerations: The first is that the Broncos have faced a couple of quality defenses, particularly Pittsburgh’s. Not every team is going to be that stout.
More concerning, though: Defenses aren’t yet scared of Denver’s passing attack, so they don’t feel the need to play on their heels or stress about making sure they can take away every blade of grass down the field. That’s manifested in the Broncos facing eight defenders in the box 27.3% of the time so far, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, the sixth-highest rate in the NFL.
Now, some teams are capable of still being productive on the ground in those scenarios. The L.A. Chargers (no surprise under new coach Jim Harbaugh), New Orleans and New England are among the teams running the ball well despite facing eight-man boxes more frequently than almost everybody in the league.
One more trend that I’ve got a few questions about this week is the Broncos pass/run splits between shotgun and under center.
Denver’s 78% pass from shotgun (fifth-highest) and only 22% pass from under center (No. 25) through two games, according to NGS. If you factor in six Bo Nix scrambles so far this season, those numbers tilt to 86% pass out of the gun and 25% pass from under center. Obviously it tracks that teams throw more out of the gun than from under center, but those rates are a little bit extreme.
Here are the Broncos’ past couple of seasons for comparison (not scramble-adjusted):
2023
Gun pass rate: 77% (No. 9)
UC pass rate: 27.8% (T-15)
2022
Gun pass rate: 73.1% (No. 17)
UC pass rate: 33.8% (No. 10)
I am amazed at the criticism Bo Nix is getting after one start. I thought he played well considering he was playing against a very good team in one of the most hostile environments in the NFL. I believe he got better as the game went on and it would have been interesting last two minutes if Denver had gotten the ball back. Remember how bad Peyton Manning was in his rookie year. This type of fan and press reaction is how quarterbacks fail. Just give him time.
— Tim Eitel, Orlando, Fla.
Hey Tim, thanks for the note and generally speaking, the thought holds true after two starts as well.
Multiple things can be true at the same time: Nix has had several rough moments in his first two starts, the Broncos offense has been bad and it’s certainly not all his fault. Nor is two games the time to make sweeping proclamations about what Nix can or can’t be in the NFL.
It’s fair to wonder if some of the struggles through the first couple of outings portent limitations for Denver this year. It’s fair to wonder if Nix was quite as ready as the Broncos’ coaching staff thought he was. But there’s also a lot of conjecture out there.
Development takes patience and there’s very little of it in the NFL across the board.
Generally speaking, that’s true of front offices and coaching staffs but also of the media landscape.
People writing Nix off as a bust already are doing the same disservice to their audience that those who raced to paint him during camp as if he could do no wrong and play great from the start did to theirs. It’s just guessing in hopes that you’re right so you can look back at some point and say, “See, I was right.”
Are there some issues that catch your attention through two games? Yes. They figured to be coming, but they’ve jumped off the screen. Are there also things worth building on? Definitely.
Can Bo Nix actually, over not just the next couple of weeks but beyond that, eliminate some of the issues, build on the foundation and then from there further grow his game? We’ll all find that out together.
Whose bright idea (sarcasm) was it for the Broncos to wear white at home? The downplaying of our color, which is orange, is beyond stupid by the management.
— James Doughtry, Denver
Hello Parker! Hidden behind the team’s bad performances lies an interesting plot. Counting the preseason, the Broncos already played five games, including three at home. And yet they only played in their white jersey, which is not supposed to be their primary color! They mixed it up with different pants colors, almost as if they’re looking for something. Are they trying to pull something? Are they testing something for further rebrand? Or is my brain trying to protect me from the product on the field that I focus on this kind of detail?
— Yoann, Beine-Nauroy, France
Oh man, two uniform questions! You know it’s a rough start to the season when…
James and Yoann are an ocean apart but share the sentiment.
It’s not trying to pull something or testing for a further rebrand, Yoann. Once you make a change to the jersey, you’re locked in for a minimum of five years.
It seems to me to be more about showcasing some of the varieties after the major offseason uniform update. They’ve got 10 different jersey/trouser combinations and they probably want to see a few of them in action to get a feel for what sticks and what looks best.
Over the course of time I would guess you’ll see it trend toward a more normal home/road split, though who knows, maybe they’ll continue showcasing a variety of combinations for a bit here.
One thing is certain: It’ll be cool when they break out the 1977 replica retro uniforms.
So yeah, Yoann, it’s been noticeable so far this season, but it might also be your brain diverting your attention.
Parker, Tyler Badie was the one running back who actually popped for a big run on Sunday and then he was taken out the very next play. Why? Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin combined for 23 yards on 14 carries. Why take out the one guy who did something when you’re trying to establish a run game. Also, do you expect Lil’Jordan Humphrey to have a bigger role in Week 3? He looked pretty good out there.
— Mike, Denver
Hey Mike, great question. Payton got asked about Badie specifically on Monday after his one carry, 16-yard performance, so I’m putting part of his answer here. In general, Payton said it’s difficult to really, truly get solid numbers of reps for three backs and that Badie had some red zone and situational work that Denver just didn’t get to because its offense was so poor overall.
“Getting the third back involved, sometimes it’s special teams, sometimes in the passing game,” Payton said. “And it was a good run by him. It’s something we’re — you take notice of it though. It’s something as a play caller, as someone who’s looking at the game, I’ve got to be able to see that.”
It’ll be interesting to see if Badie works his way into a bigger role going forward. He can be called up from the practice squad two more times before the Broncos would have to sign him to the 53-man roster, but Estime has to miss at least three more games.
As for Humphrey, he’ll keep getting targets, but I don’t think you’ll see a major role change. He’s the kind of guy Payton likes in part because Payton knows exactly who he is and how he wants to use him.
It’ll depend a little bit on availability, like always. We’ll see as the week goes along if rookie Devaughn Vele is trending toward returning this weekend at Tampa. He had eight catches, mostly underneath, in Week 1. Seemed like Humphrey collected a few of those against Pittsburgh.
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Denver, CO
Bo Nix’s footwork is “a lot better” as he plays under center more. Coincidence?
On the first of Bo Nix’s four touchdown passes against Green Bay, he did what he does more frequently than any quarterback in football.
Nix escaped from the pocket and took off running. He moved up and to the left before hitting Michael Bandy for a 20-yard catch-and-scamper.
The next three touchdowns, though, are where the Broncos offense can dream about a deep postseason run or even more.
Nix, operating from the gun, delivered strikes of all shapes and sizes and did so with clean footwork in the pocket.
He identified coverage, took a short, one-step drop and fired a perfectly placed low ball to Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Then a three-step drop to get the ball up and down with beautiful pace and timing to Courtland Sutton one-on-one up the right sideline.
Nix polished off the fourth touchdown when he five-step dropped, hitched up in the pocket twice and uncorked a rocket up the seam for Troy Franklin on a motion and route concept the Broncos have made hay on most of the year.
The Packers game represented a breakout as Nix completed 23 of 34 passes for 302 yards and the four touchdowns, but his game’s been heating up more broadly over the past month.
He had an efficient day in a much different style against Las Vegas, completing 31 of 38 passes and engineering three battering-ram touchdown drives. He threw for 616 yards in the two weeks before that in wins over Washington and Kansas City.
In those four games, Nix has completed 69.5% of his passes for 282.5 yards per game and thrown five touchdowns and an interception. Before that stretch, he completed 60.9% and averaged 212 yards per game.
What’s changed? Start from the ground up.
“I think his footwork has got a lot better,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said Thursday. “And the way he handles himself in the pocket, trusting the protection. We’ve talked about it all year and the last four games he’s done a really good job of that.
“He’s moving when he needs to and he’s hanging in there when he needs to.”
Head coach Sean Payton earlier this season said the quarterbacks get some specific footwork drilling done during a normal game week but not a ton. They’ll work a particular concept or drop between periods, but for the most part, the work is plan-specific.
Nix, though, has been working on his own pocket presence in his own ways in recent weeks.
“I think he’s probably one of the best … at learning from mistakes, and looking in the mirror and seeing what his weaknesses are,” tight end Evan Engram told The Post.
“He’s sitting in there, he’s trusting the protection, he’s letting it rip. And that’s something that he saw. And he worked on. And like – I can’t say how hard that is. I’ve never done it in my life. You’ve got freakin’ monsters rushing you, every play. And credit to the O-line, too.
The staff also appears to be doing a better job of helping get Nix into good rhythm. Part of that is by playing more frequently from under center. The touchdowns outlined above came out of shotgun, but one commonly held belief is that playing from under center helps keep footwork clean because a quarterback is forced to do it coming back from the center.
Since the Broncos returned from their bye week, the uptick has been notable.
Denver averaged 29.4% of offensive snaps under center the first 11 games. Over the past three, the number is 42.8%.
Nix has attempted nearly half as many passes from under center the past three games (25) as he did in the first 11 (51). That’s partly because he’s playing more from under center, though Denver’s under center pass rate has also jumped up from 24.5% over the first 11 games to 29.3% the past three weeks.
Nix only completed 1 of 6 passes against Green Bay for 16 yards from under center but the week before, he was 10 of 10 for 71 yards against Las Vegas.
“Each game is different relative to when we look at gun runs, under center runs, try to self-scout ourselves enough to where there’s enough play-action maybe under center, drop back,” Payton said between Vegas and Green Bay, adding that he thought Nix made a quick transition to playing under center even though he hardly did it in college.
“I think that hasn’t been a big learning curve. I think it’s gone pretty smooth.”
Particularly since the bye week, the Broncos have leaned more and more into it. Payton and Lombardi say the usage is dependent on individual game plans.
The longer this uptick continues, though, the more it looks like a philosophical shift.
Broncos reporter Luca Evans contributed to this story.
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Denver, CO
Nikola Jokic passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most assists by center in NBA history as Nuggets beat Magic
For his latest trick, Nikola Jokic dribbled into oncoming traffic and escaped unscathed.
Sometimes after he reels in a defensive rebound, the Nuggets center prefers to launch an aerial attack with one of his long outlet passes. This time, he brought the ball with him up on his usual route up the middle of the floor. Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. trailed him by a step. Up ahead, Tyus Jones veered into his lane from the left, sensing an opportunity to pick the pocket of a lumbering big man.
But Jokic is nimble. Before Jones could cut across his front side, he anticipated the attempted swipe and transferred his dribbling hand with a behind-the-back move that shouldn’t have looked so graceful. Jones whiffed. Carter caught up, but Jokic decelerated to allow him to pass. Then the newly minted best passing center of all time went behind the back again — this time, a dime to Jamal Murray, who finished the play with a lefty floater.
Denver’s stars were just showing off at that point in the third quarter of a 126-115 win over the Magic that wasn’t always so smooth-sailing.
It was a monumental night. At 30 years old and 302 days, Jokic passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Thursday for the most assists by a center in NBA history. Coming into the game, all he needed was six to match Abdul-Jabbar’s career total of 5,660. He finished the evening with 13, highlighting a 23-point, 11-rebound triple-double.
“For those of us that love the history of the game, that one should be wrote about and talked about, and that should be a national story,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “Because that’s passing a guy that you could argue — if you just want to go by generations and not, ‘Who’s the best player of all time?’ and all the talk-talk stuff — Kareem is in the conversation. Look at his MVPs. Look at the winning. And our guy tonight from Denver just passed him in a category.”
“This is a time that I can be able to look back and appreciate all the years I’ve had to play this game with him,” Murray said. “It’s special. Passing Kareem in anything is pretty cool. So I think it just speaks to his greatness and how unselfish he is.”
Jokic has also passed other Hall of Famers including Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson on the all-time list this season, now ranking 50th overall in career assists. Next up for him to catch is another legendary passer, Larry Bird. Jokic is 28 away from tying him.
“I always say the assist makes two people happy (instead of one). My coach ‘Deki,’ he always said that,” Jokic said Thursday, paying homage to the late Golden State Warriors and Mega Basket coach Dejan Milojevic.
“Maybe it’s not a splashy pass or whatever,” the three-time MVP continued, “but I think when you make the right play, you’re going to feel good about yourself.”
Adelman was especially adamant about the historical significance of the occasion. He gave Jokic the game ball in Denver’s locker room after the win.
“It’s such a cool thing, because it’s Kareem, who was passed by LeBron (James) as the all-time leading scorer, which puts in perspective who Nikola passed,” Adelman said. “So it’s a celebration of both people. It’s somebody that completely changed the game. The sky hook. The longevity. … I feel like in the modern era, we talk about Tom Brady and all these people. But go look at Kareem. The guy changed his name while he played. The guy plays 20-plus years and, until the very end, was impactful on teams that went to the Finals. So for Nikola to pass him, I think, says a lot. And if we’re going to celebrate what LeBron did, (we should celebrate this also). And I know it’s a different kind of thing because it’s a center, it’s a position. I’ll just keep saying it. Just don’t get tired of this, because it’s unique.”
Jokic is also closing in on Oscar Robertson for second all-time in triple-doubles. Thursday was his 177th, bringing him within four of the iconic guard. He became the first center in league history to average a triple-double last season, and he’s on pace to do so again this year with 29.8 points, 12.4 rebounds and 10.8 assists per game.
Orlando called a timeout after Jokic and Murray combined for that saucy transition bucket in the third quarter. As they sauntered to the huddle, Nuggets assistant coaches Ognjen Stojakovic and JJ Barea could only laugh at the duo’s skill and panache.

“That’s how kind of we made our staple in that second unit growing up, was just the give-and-go,” Murray said of Jokic’s passing. “… A lot of give-and-go, and you could see his court vision and his fluidity.”
The Nuggets did most of their work Thursday during an astonishing second quarter. They flipped a 47-33 deficit with a 35-7 run that only took the last 6:26 of the first half. Murray scored 20 of his 32 points in the frame. Reserve point guard Jalen Pickett ignited the comeback and was a plus-26 in eight minutes of playing time that quarter.
Both teams were short-handed at Ball Arena. Orlando was fending without Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. Denver was down three of its best defenders with Peyton Watson (right trunk contusion) ruled out shortly before tip, joining Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon on the shelf.
In Watson’s place, Bruce Brown started his first game as a Denver Nugget since April 9, 2023. David Adelman used 10 of his 11 available players, including Julian Strawther, who was cleared to play earlier this week after missing a month with a back injury.
Orlando mounted mini-comebacks throughout the second half, eventually narrowing a 21-point gap to 121-115 with 90 seconds to go.
Moments earlier during a Nuggets timeout, Ball Arena had displayed a graphic commemorating Jokic’s all-time assists achievement. The crowd greeted him with a round of applause as he returned to the court. Then he treated Denver to one more beauty of an assist, passing out of a double-team with a missile across the court to Cam Johnson in the backside corner. His open 3-pointer sealed the win.
“It’s a celebration of our guy, of a Denver Nugget, and it’s a celebration of NBA history, all in the same place,” Adelman said. “And we all got to be there to see it.”
Denver, CO
Things To Do In And Around Denver This Weekend – 12/17-12/21 – 303 Magazine
Where: Fight Club – 1959 16th St Mall Denver
Cost: Price varies
The Lowdown:
Guests have the option of $39 bottomless flatbreads, which includes the price of their oche reservation for Social Darts®. The bottomless flatbread menu features Smoked Salmon Flatbread, Four Cheese Flatbread, Breakfast Flatbread, or Garden Vegetable Flatbread. Guests can also order off the á la carte menu, which includes a fresh-cut fruit plate, breakfast sliders,, avocado toast, and Flight Club’s famous churros.
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