Broncos Send Strong Message on Davis Webb Amid Mounting Concern

The Denver Broncos have closed ranks around first-year offensive coordinator Davis Webb.

After a shockingly bad initial showing in Week 1, questions have swirled around Webb's competency and worthiness to serve as the Broncos' primary play-caller. Sean Payton has backed his young coordinator at every turn since that ugly Monday night loss, and on Sunday morning, ESPN's Adam Schefter dropped a report that further emphasized that support.

Per Schefter, the Broncos still have a "high level of confidence and comfort" in Webb as the play-caller.

Another Schefter report on the Broncos dropped just hours ahead of kickoff. Last week, Schefter reported that two Broncos assistants reached out to Drew Brees after Bo Nix broke his ankle in the playoffs, which Payton confirmed earlier this week.

More Webb Scrutiny

Davis Webb calls the play. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ahead of Sunday's home opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Schefter has created more scrutiny on Webb. It's not exactly the kind of attention the Broncos probably want on Webb at this juncture, but such pressure comes with the territory of being an NFL offensive coordinator and the play-caller for a team many have tapped as a Super Bowl contender this year.

It just so happens to be Webb's first year as a play-caller. He served as the Broncos' quarterbacks coach in 2023 and 2024 before Payton gave him the additional responsibility and title of also being the pass game coordinator in 2025.

When the NFL came sniffing around Webb during the head-coach hiring cycle this past January, the Broncos promoted him to offensive coordinator. A few weeks later, we learned that Payton planned to relinquish the play-calling duties to Webb, which not only raised eyebrows in the Mile High City, but also across the Fruited Plain.

Webb's offense in the preseason this past summer was productive, centered around the run game. In training camp, the Broncos' philosophy under Webb seemed to center around two tight-end sets and the play-action game.

The beginnings of an offensive identity were taking shape. Cut to Arrowhead Stadium last Monday night, though, and there was no identity to be found in Denver's offense.

Webb kept Nix in the shotgun, hardly ever putting him under center. Webb called exactly 10 rushing plays where the ball was handed off or tossed to the running back, and the Broncos finished with just 15 total rushing attempts and 32 passing attempts, counting the four plays in which Nix was sacked.

Webb showed no awareness of Steve Spagnuolo's specialty of blitzing from the nickel sub-packages, throwing Nix into the face of Kansas City's unrelenting pressure by keeping him in the gun, not running the ball, and trying to spread out the defense. The most concerning aspect is that Webb's half-time adjustments seemed like half-measures, as the Broncos called a few more runs in the second half but stayed in the spread-them-out shotgun offense.

Untimely penalties crushed multiple drives, and once again, the receivers showed a troubling propensity for dropped passes. Perhaps worst of all, Nix did not look like himself in his first game back from the broken ankle suffered last January.

Fast forward to Thursday, and Payton's take on Week 1's embarrassment was that everyone's fingerprints were on it — not just Webb's.

“I think that game didn’t go for any of us as we would’ve hoped," Payton said. "I said in the meeting this morning, there was dirt on a ton of people’s hands, starting with me. We have to learn from that. It’s a quick turnaround. You can’t get to the next game quick enough, and I’m sure the same way for him.”

Webb's Take

Webb fully recognized that it was nowhere close to the Broncos' standard.

“Obviously not good enough," Webb said of his first game as the play-caller on Friday. "I’m not proud of the result in a lot of phases when it comes to… I probably had five play calls I’d love to have back. Execution, penalties, just not what you wanted to start with considering we had a good camp. We felt like we had a good plan going in. It just didn’t time up well."

One of my takeaways coming out of Monday night's 31-10 debacle was that Payton needed to be more hands-on with his young charge. But listening to Webb on Friday, Payton's approach was unchanged when it came to the game-planning and input for Week 2.

“He’s been the same as he has been," Webb said of Payton's Week 2 involvement. "He’s been involved in game-plan meetings, and we’re discussing each and every play while we’re putting it in. He’ll have plenty of ideas that are good that he wants to see on the sheet. It’s been a great working relationship in regards to him, our offensive staff, everyone getting involved just like it has been here traditionally.”

The Takeaway

The Broncos aren't about to abandon Webb to the wolves, not after one game — concerningly bad though it was. Payton still believes in Webb, but you have to wonder how much rope the young coordinator has after that ugly showing last week.

I would hazard to guess that Webb has two more weeks to prove he's got a better feel and command for the situation before the Broncos would take any action, whether that would be for Payton to co-share the play-calling or take it back completely.

The Broncos' schedule is such that Payton can't afford to dither for too long in developing a young coordinator who may or may not be ready for the responsibilities he currently has. I expect Webb's play-calling to be much better in Week 2 and to show that he learned a lot from his first game going up against a legend like Spagnuolo.

But most of my confidence in Webb is based on Payton's confidence in Webb. Time will tell.

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