Broncos get the ball<\/a> to two of their highest-paid players? Why is Waddle frustrated enough during games to slam his helmet on the bench? And why have Sutton and Nix seemingly lost the third-down rhythm they established over the past two seasons?<\/p>\nThere isn\u2019t one clear answer to those questions. Nix\u2019s struggles are inherently tied to the Broncos\u2019 inability to get their receivers involved. He isn\u2019t pushing the ball downfield, where both Sutton and Waddle have been most effective. At this point, Denver\u2019s passing offense has largely been reduced to checkdowns to running backs and tight ends, often for short gains near the sidelines.<\/p>\n
Opposing defenses understand that. Nix and the offense have struggled to force teams out of two-high safety looks and shell coverage, but the answer seems relatively simple: They haven\u2019t consistently made defenses pay for staying in those looks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know where the disconnect is right now, to be honest with you,\u201d Nix said. \u201cI just think we\u2019re really for some reason struggling to find those explosive plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last season, Sutton recorded 21 catches for 255 yards and three touchdowns on passes traveling at least 20 yards downfield, according to Next Gen Stats. Waddle was also effective in that area, posting 14 catches for 35.2 yards per catch. Those numbers helped make the pair an intriguing combination of size, contested-catch ability and downfield speed. So far, the Broncos haven\u2019t consistently translated those strengths into production.<\/p>\n
Those struggles don\u2019t fall squarely on Nix, though.<\/p>\n
Sutton has looked a step slower than he has in years past, struggling to separate against man coverage. He has always been a bigger-bodied receiver who relies more on contested catches and body positioning than elite route running. But his 2.9 yards of separation on routes run this year is actually the highest since 2023, according to Next Gen Stats.<\/p>\n
Thursday night told a similar story for Sutton, who caught just two passes for 19 yards. Sutton has built his career on winning physical battles and making difficult catches. When those plays aren\u2019t there, the Broncos lose much of what makes him effective.<\/p>\n
![\"Wide](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/TDP-L-BroncosVsSeahawks-20261015-TH-43.jpg\")
Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (17) of the Denver Broncos pulls in a catch while being tackled by cornerback Trevon Diggs (16) of the Seattle Seahawks during second half of a 17-14 overtime Broncos win on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, since the Jacksonville game, Waddle and Nix haven\u2019t been on the same page. Nix is trying to get him involved: He has targeted the heralded wide receiver 25 times over the past four games. But whether because of inaccurate throws, drops or miscommunication, the pairing hasn\u2019t found its rhythm.<\/p>\n
Nix acknowledged a \u201cdisconnect\u201d in the Broncos\u2019 offense after Thursday\u2019s game. The connection between the quarterback and his top wide receiver appears to be one of the most pressing issues.<\/p>\n
Waddle looked engaged Thursday, celebrating with his teammates after Wil Lutz\u2019s game-winning kick. There was little outward sign that the Broncos needed to worry about their star wide receiver publicly demanding the ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo frustration. We all just working. We all got to come and go to get better each and every week. So just growing pains,\u201d Waddle told The Denver Post after Thursday\u2019s win.<\/p>\n
Sutton has struck a similar tone, emphasizing that his approach won\u2019t change just because the offense hasn\u2019t produced the way he wants.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot allowing the circumstance to dictate my attitude, my effort, the way that I come to work,\u201d Sutton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDay by day, that\u2019s come to work every day, smile on my face, ready to work. You never know when the ball\u2019s gonna find you and I feel like the moment that you decide to take a step down, take a step away from it because things aren\u2019t the way you want to go in that specific moment, that\u2019s when you start to see failure creep in.\u201d<\/p>\n
That approach matters, but it doesn\u2019t solve the Broncos\u2019 bigger problem.<\/p>\n
Denver has invested heavily in receiving talent. The Broncos have a quarterback who has shown he can build connections with his top targets, and two receivers with different strengths who should give the offense options against a variety of coverages. Yet the passing game has too often failed to turn those advantages into explosive plays.<\/p>\n
The solution won\u2019t necessarily be as simple as throwing the ball to Sutton and Waddle more often. Denver needs to create opportunities for them to win downfield, improve the timing between Nix and his receivers and punish defenses for taking away the deep ball. Until that happens, the Broncos risk wasting one of the offense\u2019s most important strengths.<\/p>\n
Sutton\u2019s reaction Thursday was only one moment in a long season. But with the Broncos still seeking answers in the passing game, it was a reminder of just how frustrating that search has become.<\/p>\n
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Courtland Sutton pounded his fist into the ground four times, venting his frustration after getting hit in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1030323,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2081],"tags":[232,1270,231,258,7,14706,929,926,6,2830,238,237,261,2635,9,3189,3906],"class_list":["post-1030322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-seattle-seahawks","tag-broncos","tag-courtland-sutton","tag-denver","tag-denver-broncos","tag-football","tag-jaylen-waddle","tag-latest-headlines","tag-more-broncos-news","tag-nfl","tag-running-backs","tag-seahawks","tag-seattle","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-seattleseahawks","tag-sports","tag-the-denver-post","tag-wil-lutz"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117458385309324393","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1030322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1030322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1030322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1030323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1030322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1030322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1030322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}