The Denver Broncos, in the early stages of 2024, have had difficulty putting the ingredients together to start a game quickly. They found a bit of the recipe in Tampa Bay, but over the last two weeks, they seemed to have misplaced the directions. The Denver Broncos will be looking to cook a new recipe for their Week 7 matchup with the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night.
The ingredients
The term “soggy bottom” is a term no chef ever wants to hear. The Denver Broncos offense, through six weeks, is not only soggy and sticking to the roof of the mouth but near the bottom of every meaningful category in the first half.
Outside of the well-cooked offering in Tampa Bay, where the Denver Broncos appeared to be cooking with gas, the dishes have been nonpalatable. In the first half of those five games, the numbers are glaring. They have 20 punts, two interceptions, two lost fumbles, and 15 three-and-outs over 30 first-half possessions. They have only managed to score one first-half touchdown, and that came against a Las Vegas Raiders team in massive turmoil.
The Broncos rank 27th in total offense in the first half and average 7.7 points. They also rank 27th in yards per play (4.7) and last in offensive EPA (EPA stands for Expected Points Added, a metric that measures how much a play affects a team’s chances of scoring. It’s calculated by subtracting the expected points before a play from the expected points after the play at minus-43.8) in the first half.
The pairing of these first half ingredients does not make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, let alone a fine Bordeaux and filet.
Can it be salvaged?
Yes. The second-half numbers suggest that the Denver Broncos can cook with some degree of chops as Head Coach Sean Payton lets rookie quarterback Bo Nix cook. The Broncos rank 11th in the National Football League in the second half of total offense with an average of 11.0 points.
In an interesting study from Michigan State University in 2023, scientists confirmed what we already know: that we eat with our eyes first. How things are packaged and presented alters the perception of taste and the experience we have when we eat. The same can be said about sports. The Broncos do not pass the eye test in the first half of games. However, in the second, our eyes tell us that they use a more up-tempo pace of play, and that has produced a more efficient and productive offense.
Sometimes, we must trust our eyes and our guts. Go with what looks good. Go with what seems good. And it seems like when Payton removes the kid gloves and lets his quarterback be himself, everything looks better, feels better, and is better. Sean Payton must cook up some tempo served with a tight end and a running game, and the reviews will come back better than expected.
Final Thoughts
The Denver Broncos do not have time to reheat the sour loss to the Chargers this past week. There is going to be some home cooking for Sean Payton as he returns to the kitchen of the Louisiana Superdome, where he had so much success. Will the Denver Broncos be able to overcome the emotion of Drew Brees being honored at halftime and the return of Sean Payton to the Big Easy? They will need some of Sean Payton’s best homemade sauce to get back on the winning track.
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