KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix needed just three words to sum up the laundry list of woes in the team's 31-10 season-opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
Nix said it was "pretty pitiful, actually."
The Broncos started the evening riding an offseason full of optimism and high hopes, but ended it with one of the worst all-around performances since a 41-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in 2024 -- Nix's rookie year.
"We just let ourselves down ... we literally gave ourselves no chance to succeed and made it easier for them, point blank, period," Nix said. " ... We don't have a choice but to get better, just a nasty wake-up call."
In first-year offensive coordinator Davis Webb's regular-season debut as the team's playcaller, the Broncos found little rhythm, right from an ill-fated opening drive. In their first three plays from scrimmage, Nix was sacked to open the drive and threw his first interception of the season on the third play.
The Chiefs turned that into their first touchdown, and though the Broncos answered with their only touchdown drive of the night on their next possession to tie the score at 7-7, the die of frustration had already been cast. The Broncos' offense gained just 176 net yards and didn't have a play longer than 20 yards.
And defensively, a staggeringly large pile of missed tackles resulted in Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III running for a career-high 173 yards in his first regular-season game in Kansas City. Walker averaged 7.5 yards per carry, and his total included a 60-yard touchdown run against a defense that allowed just one back gain more than 70 yards in a game last season.
The Chiefs finished with 220 yards rushing, and it was the most rushing yards the Broncos have surrendered in a game since they allowed 234 to the New York Jets in Week 5 of the 2024 season.
"We didn't tackle well enough, and then the game became one-dimensional," Broncos coach Sean Payton said. "Really the antithesis of how you beat a good team on the road; it's that simple."
And though the Broncos' run defense will be heavily criticized in the days to come, the Broncos' offense will likely bear a bigger brunt.
Though Payton has repeatedly said he has significant input in the game-planning and how the Broncos approach each week, Webb's first regular-season game calling plays was not the debut anyone with the team had hoped to see. Payton said his initial impression was there were "a lot of throws, not enough runs."
"It starts with me, it starts with our coaching staff," Payton said. " ... Our third-down numbers weren't good. Our rushing numbers weren't good. Pick your spot."
The Broncos had just six carries in the first half, and the Chiefs had a two-touchdown lead before running back J.K. Dobbins had carries on consecutive plays. The Broncos also had seven penalties overall; Nix fumbled three times (losing one) to go with his first-quarter interception and was sacked four times -- tied for the most in any game of his career.
Nix was quick to point the finger at himself and the other players on offense rather than the plan.
"Absolutely, players did not make it easy on [Webb]," Nix said. " ... He was, to me, in the headset; he was a pro with it. ... We called exactly what we prepared for. We just didn't execute, and then we were behind and just literally we didn't a whole lot of good consistently."
Nix added: "You learn how important it is not to kill yourself. That goes without saying ... I just felt like penalty after penalty after penalty, nobody has good plays to call when you're in second-and-long and third-and-long. ... We just didn't put anybody in a good spot."
Nix pointed to Broncos safety Brandon Jones intercepting Patrick Mahomes' pass in the third quarter, when the Chiefs had a 21-7 lead, as a point when the Broncos' offense, if it were going well, could have turned the game. Jones returned the interception to the Chiefs' 5-yard line.
However, the Broncos lost 8 yards over the next four plays, including a penalty, and settled for a field goal. "We take an interception and literally go backwards," Nix said.
The Broncos have a short week to digest it all and prepare for the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0), who play at Denver on Sunday.
"We can act like all that we want. They're still the Chiefs, and they're still a good football team," Nix said. " ... You have to give them a lot of credit, and they wore us out today."
"We needed some humble pie for sure," cornerback Pat Surtain II said. " ... Going in all the offseason talk, all the hype about this team, you just got to find a way to cancel all that out and play, you know, just winning football ... got to find a way to bounce back."
