Broncos get demolished in season opener

Denver lost to Kansas City 31-10 on Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium. Quarterback Bo Nix called the performance "pretty pitiful."

“Pretty pitiful.”

RJ Harvey shows fight in defeat

Running back RJ Harvey was one of the few bright spots, recording four catches for 23 yards and three rushes for 18 yards while showing effort throughout the game.

Broncos abandoned the running game

Denver called 28 pass plays versus only 12 runs, with rookie Jonah Coleman not getting a single carry despite being active on the roster.

Bo Nix struggles in first game

Nix completed 17 of 28 passes for 131 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while fumbling three times. He faced pressure from a leaky offensive line all night.

Receivers dropped passes all night

Multiple Denver receivers had passes slip through their hands, adding to the offensive struggles beyond just Nix's performance.

Payton calls loss a slap in the face

Head coach Sean Payton expressed frustration that after so much preparation time, the quarterback and team weren't ready to perform at the expected level.

“a slap in the face.”

Jeremy Crawshaw was the lone bright spot

The punter averaged 52.3 yards per punt across six attempts, including a 68-yard bomb, and pinned Kansas City inside the 20-yard line three times.

Defense missed 28 tackles

Denver's defense recorded 28 missed tackles according to Next Gen Stats, allowing Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker to rush for 173 yards and a touchdown.

Kenneth Walker dominated the Broncos

The Chiefs running back averaged 7.5 yards per carry, a ridiculous number that exposed Denver's inability to stop the run game.

Alex Singleton exposed as one-dimensional

The linebacker struggled in coverage and run defense, becoming one of the primary culprits in Denver's defensive collapse.

Payton blames field position and tackling

The head coach pointed to poor time of possession, short fields for the defense, and missed tackles as the main reasons for the loss.

“The time of possession. We put our defense in some short field. We didn't tackle well on defense and then the game became one-dimensional.”

Davis Webb's play-calling questioned

The first-year offensive coordinator drew criticism for calling an empty-formation play on a critical third-and-one situation against Kansas City.

Broncos couldn't pressure Patrick Mahomes

Denver's defense failed to generate pressure on the Chiefs quarterback in his first game back from a severe knee injury, despite Kansas City starting an undrafted rookie at left tackle.

Coaching staff shares responsibility

While Sean Payton has full control of the roster and coordinators, both he and his subordinates deserve blame for the offensive and defensive failures.

Payton got the team he wanted

The head coach assembled his preferred roster and coordinators with full organizational power, making him ultimately responsible for the Week 1 disaster.