Broncos Post-Game Quotes That Matter—And What They Could Signal for Week 2

The Denver Broncos will want to flush Monday night's season-opening loss down the memory hole as quickly as possible.

Amid the Broncos' comedy of errors, they missed 28 tackles, leading to 247 yards of additional damage the Kansas City Chiefs inflicted on their way to a 31-10 blowout victory.

"Obviously, not a great evening. Didn't do a lot well at all in the game," Broncos head coach Sean Payton said post-game. "That starts with me, that starts with our coaching staff. I thought they won, really, in every phase."

Given the brutal strength of the Broncos' immediate schedule, Payton's team let an opportunity to start fast slip away. And what's more, the Broncos' misguided game plan totally backfired.

Patrick Mahomes wasn't exactly his pre-injury self, though his mobility raised some eyebrows. Meanwhile, in his first game back since his January fractured ankle, Bo Nix looked far rustier by comparison.

Nix Defends Webb

Davis Webb and Bo Nix chop it up pre-game in the preseason. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nix is finding his footing with first-time play-caller Davis Webb, though the duo's working relationship stretches back to the quarterback's rookie year. The 36 games they spent together as quarterback and quarterbacks coach did nothing to help Nix hit the ground running in his 2026 debut.

Unfortunately, Denver's disjointed, error-riddled showing in Kansas City puts the onus on the young offensive coordinator. Webb is suddenly feeling the pressure, and the scrutiny moving forward will be intense, especially if he's unable to turn things around.

Still, Nix can't help but feel like he and his teammates let Webb down in his first-ever NFL game as a play-caller.

"I think players didn't make it easy on him. Pretty pitiful, actually," Nix said post-game. "To me, in the headset, he treated it like a pro. Saying things like, ‘Next one. Let’s go. You’ve got this.’ He shot it with conviction. We called exactly what we prepared for and what we wanted to get to. We just didn’t execute and then we were behind. I don’t think we did a whole lot of good consistently enough to win the game at all.”

With the Jacksonville Jaguars next up, the Broncos have to break out of this funk quickly. If the offense struggles again in Week 2, it could lead to a clamor to bring an abrupt end to Webb's play-calling.

Nix's 'Nasty Wake-Up Call

The most frustrating aspect of the Broncos' season-opening loss was that they did it to themselves. It was a comedy of self-inflicted wounds on both sides of the ball that led to just the second loss to Kansas City of the Nix era.

It was a reality check, though. Nix was clear about that post-game.

“I think we just let ourselves down. I think it’s more disappointing than frustrating," Nix said. I’m not necessarily filled with rage, we just let ourselves down, shot ourselves in the foot, literally gave ourselves no chance to succeed today. We made it easier for them, point blank, period. We know we have to be better. 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.”

Let's hope the Broncos have finally emerged from the somnambulant offseason because they'll need every ounce of caffeine they can get to weather the next five games.

Payton's Frustraton

Sean Payton and Davis Webb. — Sean Payton and Davis Webb pass each other on the sideline. | Dustin Bradford / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

With Payton in the background, the prospect of him taking back the play-calling duties from Webb already hangs over the Broncos like a dark cloud. And we're only one game into the season.

That narrative will provide some low-hanging fruit for local airwaves and podcasts in the coming days, but by saying "it starts with me," Payton took ownership of Monday night's debacle and, in so doing, offered some cover for his young offensive coordinator.

But Payton couldn't help but admit to the frustration of watching that game unfold.

“As a head coach, whether you are calling the plays or not, it is frustrating," Payton said. "It is disappointing. I don’t know if the feeling is any different whether you are calling them or not, honestly.”

The Broncos' ineptitude on both sides of the ball calls for Payton to conduct a forensic investigation of what went so wrong in Kansas City. Leaving so many arrows in the quiver was particularly puzzling, as the Broncos neglected new wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and the rebuilt running game — even before the game got out of hand.

Getting outcoached and outhustled across the board will only sound the dinner bell for the Broncos' upcoming opponents. The Broncos can ill afford a repeat performance of Monday night's fundamental failure to tackle and execute, or else this gauntlet of a schedule will quickly swallow them up.

Alex Singleton Dismisses Concerns

Team captain's flippant post-game assurances won't sit easy with Broncos fans who saw their team inexplicably on the wrong end of a good old-fashioned butt whooping, especially after the veteran linebacker missed so many tackles at Arrowhead.

"Yeah, we're gonna be fine," Singleton said via DNVR's Zac Stevens. "We're gonna work on it this week; we're going to do what we need to do, and we're gonna be fine."

Evan Engram: Broncos Went Off-Brand

"[We] just didn't play our brand of football," Engram said via Aric DiLalla of the team website. "[We] didn't stay on the field offensively, didn't get off defensively. A lot of penalties. Credit to them. They came out, punched us in the mouth. We've got to respond."

The Broncos looked nothing like the 14-win team from last season, so Engram's point is a salient one. However, it was good to see the veteran tight end's involvement, leading the team with four receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown.

Denver has to figure out how to get back to playing its "brand of football." And it's got to happen fast.

Riley Moss Reacts to the Tackling Woes

"[It's about] the little things," Moss said via the team website. "It's not trying to make crazy plays; it's just the simple 'make a tackle.' It sounds easy—and it is easy—but we just have to get it done, and we didn't."

The Broncos made everything look difficult on Monday night. Moss was highly complicit in the Broncos' historic missed-tackle epidemic, with several whiffs, two of which led to touchdowns.

The Takeaway

Searching for answers at breakneck speed is essential. But when it comes to the possibility of Payton taking back the play-calling from Webb, don't expect it to happen quite yet.

Payton has to give Webb the opportunity to learn from his failures if he expects him to grow and improve as a play-caller. Webb's next test comes on a short week, with the Jaguars returning to Mile High on Sunday in hopes of duplicating their Week 16 win.

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