Broncos Country, Stay Vigilant Against Offseason Complacency

Denver Broncos fans must hold the team accountable this offseason after snapping the playoff drought.

Jan 12, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton walks off the field after losing to the Buffalo Bills in an AFC wild card game at Highmark Stadium. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The Denver Broncos are back.

After all, the Broncos made the playoffs and have their quarterback of the future, a great defense, and a great head coach. This team is back. That means Broncos Country and the team can kick back, relax, and take things easy over the next eight months, right? 

Nope.

Now is not the time for complacency from anyone in or around the organization, which the Broncos know. To be a contender, the team must improve in many areas, especially if it wants to capitalize on a promising quarterback on a cost-controlled rookie contract.

Making the playoffs was great, but how the Broncos got there wasn’t, and neither was what happened when they got there. Denver had multiple chances to clinch a playoff spot and failed until the last game of the season, which was unsettling. All the Broncos had to do was beat the Los Angeles Chargers or Cincinnati Bengals, but they collapsed in both games. 

The Broncos ultimately clinched a playoff berth by beating the Kansas City Chiefs. It was a good game, but the Chiefs fielded players who joined the team within the week leading up to the game. If the Broncos didn’t win that game, there would have been a lot more concern about the team, obviously.

But Denver did beat the Chiefs backups, and convincingly. Even so, the Broncos' stretch run left plenty of room for concern. 

The defense was exposed once the Broncos got to the playoffs, especially the running game. You can’t win playoff football without an effective rushing attack offensively or without stopping the run.

The highly-ranked Broncos defense was cut down by Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills and looked like a pedestrian-caliber unit. The Bills were able to take the teeth out of Denver's defense, and even with a slower start, Allen got rolling, and nothing was stopping their stampede. 

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As for Bo Nix, it might be a little too early to call him a franchise quarterback. Despite his excellent and historic rookie season, he still has a lot to prove.

Nix had a great stretch during the season, but whenever the Broncos faced more formidable defenses, the issues around his game became more apparent. That doesn’t mean he can’t be a franchise quarterback, but the jury is still out. 

Sean Payton is a great coach, but he had issues as a play-caller this past season, which led to some calls for him to give up play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. We've seen Lombardi as a play-caller, and it wasn’t the answer then, and it's unlikely to be the case now. The Broncos may benefit from moving on from Lombardi, actually, but we can talk more about that another time.

The Broncos overachieved this season, which has skewed the opinion on how talented the roster is, leading to this complacency within the fanbase and the media, frankly. There are more need positions than not across the roster, and if we're being honest, there's never a set position group outside of having a surefire franchise quarterback locked up long-term.

It's the time of year when the Broncos want to improve their team. There have been some coaching changes, and soon comes free agency and the NFL draft.

Tommy Hilfiger has a famous maxim that's quite apt for the view of the Broncos.

“I think it's dangerous to think that you're successful because then you become complacent.” 

The Broncos can’t be complacent internally, and neither can the fans. Getting to the playoffs was the first step, but the Broncos have many more to take if they want to win their fourth Super Bowl. 

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