Bo Nix's Defense of Davis Webb Raises the Stakes for Broncos' Offense

After an offseason of hope and hype surrounding new coordinator Davis Webb, the Denver Broncos' offense turned in a stinker at Arrowhead Stadium to kick off the 2026 campaign.

In Webb's first game as the Broncos' offensive play-caller, quarterback Bo Nix looked lost, throwing a bad interception and fumbling the ball a whopping three times, though he only lost one. It didn't help that the Broncos' offensive line struggled to pass protect and had no answers for the Kansas City Chiefs' blitz packages.

Webb ignored the running game for much of the half, despite the Chiefs fielding the 25th-ranked rushing defense last season, and the Broncos only managed to put up 10 points on 176 total yards. The Chiefs stopped the Broncos on nine straight third-down attempts. In just about every way possible, Webb's first outing as a play-caller was a complete and utter failure.

After the game, though, Nix wasn't about to blame Webb's play-calling or the Broncos' game plan. He put the onus squarely on himself and his offensive teammates. .

“I think the players did not make it easy on him today," Nix said of Webb. "Pretty pitiful, actually... We called exactly what we prepared for and what we wanted to get to. We just didn’t execute, and then we were behind.”

Literally, the only positive to point to in the Broncos' offensive showing was that, when Webb did call a run play, J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey were productive, averaging 4.5 and 6.0 yards per rush, respectively. Beyond that, it was just as Nix described it: pitiful.

Chiefs Send a Bold Message

After missing the playoffs for only the second time in the Andy Reid era and the first time since Patrick Mahomes became the quarterback, the Chiefs went into Week 1 with their dander up, looking to send a message to the Broncos, the AFC West — and heck, the entire NFL.

The Broncos hoped to send their own message: last season's 14-win finish and divisional crown weren't an anomaly, and they're here to stay atop the AFC West. That message turned quickly into an S.O.S. as the Chiefs overwhelmed the Broncos' offense, with Nix throwing an uncharacteristically bad interception on the opening drive.

It's ironic that Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III's individual stat line exceeded the Broncos' entire offensive production. He had 176 yards from scrimmage, tying the Broncos' total yardage, but his two touchdowns eclipsed what Webb's unit was able to produce collectively.

Walker was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Ouch.

The Broncos' defense didn't make it any easier on Webb and Nix, allowing the Chiefs to run roughshod up and down the field. Denver missed 28 tackles, per Next Gen Stats, which Kansas City exploited to the tune of 247 yards after contact.

If the Broncos would have had even an average day tackling, this would have been a winnable game. Alas, it wasn't. And the Chiefs bellowed from the rooftops that they're back and they're pissed.

Broncos Close Ranks Around Webb — For Now

Davis Webb. — Davis Webb calls the plays from the sideline. | Dustin Bradford / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

It's admirable that Nix tried to take the spotlight off of Webb's woeful first game. Even head coach Sean Payton chose to fall on the sword rather than point the finger at his young protégé.

The Chiefs out-coached, out-planned, and out-physicaled the Broncos across the board. But Nix believed it was more a case of his team failing to launch and making it all too easy for the Chiefs.

“I think we just let ourselves down," Nix said. "I’m not necessarily filled with rage; we just let ourselves down, shot ourselves in the foot, [and] literally gave ourselves no chance to succeed today. We made it easier for them, point blank, period."

Credit to Nix for trying to jump in front of the fire, but the downside is that it only increases the pressure on himself and his offensive teammates. Fortunately, Nix is no stranger to such demands, as he's usually at his best in high-pressure situations.

However, the Broncos will only be able to shield Webb for so long if they're unable to turn the ship around fast. Payton is there as a fail-safe, but if he were to take back the play-calling so early in the season, it would not only send the wrong message internally, but it would deprive Webb of the opportunity to glean live-bullet experience, learn from his mistakes, and grow into the play-caller Payton believes he can be.

History Says Week 1 Was an Outlier

Sean Payton and Andy Reid shake hands post-game. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Obviously, the Broncos' initial showing of 2026 was nowhere near good enough for a team that entered the season with legitimate Super Bowl ambitions. Since Payton arrived in 2023, the Broncos have always played the Chiefs tough.

Payton was 4-2 against Kansas City as Broncos head coach going into Monday night's game, with 2023's 18-9 loss at Arrowhead his widest margin of defeat. Nix entered the season opener 3-1 against the Chiefs all-time, with his only loss coming in his first-ever game at Arrowhead, where he had the Broncos in position to win the game with a walk-off Wil Lutz field goal, before Leo Chenal blocked it to deliver a 16-14 Kansas City win.

11 points. Payton's two losses to the Chiefs before Monday night were by a combined 11 points — a sharp contrast to the 21-point blowout defeat at Arrowhead.

I recount this history only to illustrate how much of an outlier the Broncos' performance in Week 1 truly was. The question is, what changed?

As much as I hate to say it, the only new element to point to is Webb as the play-caller, unless you want to include Kansas City's motivation to send a message to kick off the 2026 season. There's no doubt the Chiefs were hyped up for this matchup, but they're always dialed in when the Broncos are on the schedule, so it's not really unique to this game.

It would be one thing if the Broncos came up short in a shoot-out, or failed to make that one last play in the clutch, and lost by a single score. But the Chiefs embarrassed them, while Webb's offense was completely disjointed and imbalanced.

The Takeaway

The hard truth is that it won't get any easier for a while. The Broncos have to regroup and rally as they host the Jacksonville Jaguars next, followed by the Los Angeles Rams at Mile High, then a two-game road trip against the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Chargers, before coming back to Denver to face the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football.

Payton isn't about to hit the panic button on Webb as his play-caller, but his finger has to be itching a little. The bigger crisis, though, was shockingly poor tackling by Vance Joseph's defense, which linebacker and team captain Alex Singleton dismissed as an anomaly the Broncos will quickly get fixed.

Nix took ownership over his play and the overall ineptitude of the Broncos' offense. It'll take that level of extreme accountability in the hearts and minds of everyone at Broncos HQ to bounce back from a public butt-whooping of Monday night's magnitude.

"We know we have to be better," Nix said. "There are a lot of guys in that locker room that are going to take ownership and be better. It starts with me and it starts with our offense. We’re going to be better. We don’t have a choice but to get better. It was a nasty wake-up call today.”

I guess that's the silver lining. In the wake of an opening-season showing that pathetic, the Broncos have nowhere to go but up. Let's hope we see lift-off in Week 2.

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