One game does not a season make.
But Monday night’s dismal opener to the Broncos’ 2026 National Football League season left me with a bunch of questions about the team that is supposed to be a Super Bowl contender.
Foremost among them focuses on head coach Sean Payton and his personal choice as play-caller, Davis Webb.
After Monday night’s unimaginative and ineffective demonstration, I have to wonder how many more games like this will pass before Payton takes back play-by-play offensive decision-making.
My first boss at the Rocky Mountain News more than 40 years ago shared a piece of wisdom I recalled as I pondered Webb’s immediate future;
“Never forget,” he told me. “Our greatest job security is the reluctance of the person who hired us to admit making a mistake.”
Against the Chiefs, Webb’s offense managed the second-fewest points scored by any team on the NFL’s first weekend. Only the Rams, who scored a mere seven in Australia, tallied less.
The Broncos’ total offense exceeded KC running back Kenneth Walker’s individual total yards by only three (176-173), and Jeremy Crawshaw was called on to punt six times—half of Denver’s possessions.
The Chiefs ran 67 plays to Denver’s 47and outran the Broncos 38 carries to 15.
“Too many passes,” growled coach Payton.
Two failed series stood out.
With 4:56 left in the first half, the Broncos faced a third-and-one at their own 32.
With what is considered one of the best offensive lines in the league—of not THE best, a handoff seemed in order to gain a new set of downs and keep the drive alive.
Webb called for a pass to Jayle Waddle behind the line.
Incomplete. Punt.
Kansas City then marched 80 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a 13-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to Rashee Rice that put the Chiefs ahead to stay, 14-7.
Denver had a great chance to stay in the game after Walker broke a 60-yard TD run on fourth-and-one on the first series of the second half but couldn’t convert.
After yet another Crawshaw punt, Broncos safety Brandon Jones intercepted Mahomes and returned it to the Kansas City five. But four botched plays later, Denver had to settle for a 31-yard Wil Lutz field goal.
The Broncos didn’t threaten again.
If there was a glimmer of a bright spot for Denver, it was the Broncos’ second series, when they scored their only touchdown.
Webb opened up his playbook a little and Nix completed five straight passes during a seven-play, 73-yard response to Mahomes’ 15-yard scramble up the middle for KC’s first score.
Neither quarterback seemed affected by the knee and ankle injuries they suffered last season.
Calling Webb “really sharp” and saying his new play-caller “has a gift,” Payton announced the shocking change in February.
Webb was on NFL teams from 2017, when the Giants drafted him in the third round, through 2022, when he played in his only regular-season NFL game.
A teammate of Mahomes at Texas Tech and drafted the same year, Webb’s only NFL appearance was a start in the last game of the ’22 season against the Eagles in Philadelphia.
Webb completed 23 of 40 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown (with 1:38 left in the fame) in a 22-16 loss to the eventual Super Bowl runnerup (38-35 to Kansas City).
It doesn’t get easier for the Broncos, Webb or Payton in the weeks ahead.
Next up is Jacksonville, a 34-10 winner over Cleveland in their opener, followed by the Rams, 49ers, Chargers and defending Super Bowl champ Seattle. It’s the toughest opening six weeks for any NFL team this year.
How will Webb fare? How long will Payton’s patience last?
“It’s not something I would do if I didn’t think it would help the team,” Payton said last February when he announced Webb’s promotion.
“I think it’s going to help our team, and I’ll do whatever it takes to support him.”
We’ll see how wise my old boss really was.
__________________________
Denny Dressman writes a weekly sports column for The Villager. You can write to Denny at dennydressman@comcast.net.