{"id":1030791,"date":"2026-10-18T10:15:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T10:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1030791\/"},"modified":"2026-10-18T10:15:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T10:15:17","slug":"bo-nix-and-denver-wideouts-tumble-while-secondary-skyrockets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1030791\/","title":{"rendered":"Bo Nix and Denver wideouts tumble, while secondary skyrockets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winning in the NFL is hard, but the Broncos keep defying what traditional victories look like. Denver\u2019s offense was nonexistent in the second half of Thursday\u2019s win over the Seahawks, but a tremendous defensive effort \u2014 led by a backup secondary \u2014 was enough to defeat the reigning Super Bowl champions 17-14<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s The Denver Post\u2019s stock report on the win<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stock up<\/p>\n

Kris Abrams-Draine, Jahdae Barron: Down three starters, the Broncos\u2019 secondary proved its belief that it has the deepest unit in football. Barron and Abrams-Draine were fantastic for the second game in a row, consistently making Sam Darnold hold the ball one too many times. Abrams-Draine played perfect trail technique on his interception, staying on Tory Horton\u2019s hip before undercutting the crossing route and intercepting Darnold\u2019s pass.<\/p>\n

Even on completed passes \u2014 like a bobbling catch by Jaxon Smith-Njigba on third down or Rashid Shaheed\u2019s two-point conversion \u2014 Barron was in great position. Riley Moss barely played, meaning Denver had to rely on two unproven players to stop one of the most productive receivers in football. Task accomplished.<\/p>\n

Ja\u2019Quan McMillian: Thursday was a vintage McMillian game. The nickelback covered Smith-Njigba, recorded a sack on a blitz and sealed the game with a clutch interception. He tackled well after the catch, a point of emphasis for Denver\u2019s defense against \u201cJSN.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone inside the Broncos\u2019 locker room seems to believe McMillian is the team\u2019s \u201cbig-play guy.\u201d After Thursday\u2019s interception, along with his play in last season\u2019s AFC divisional win over the Buffalo Bills, the pending free agent is making a strong pitch to George Paton and company to keep him in Denve<\/a>r.<\/p>\n

The pass rush: Singling out one player along the Broncos\u2019 defensive line would do the unit a disservice after Thursday. Twelve different players hit Sam Darnold, the most by the Broncos since 2006. Led by All-Pros Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto, the front pushed around the reigning Super Bowl champions\u2019 offensive line. Que Robinson is rounding into form as the team\u2019s best pass rusher behind Bonitto, and Malcolm Roach is developing good chemistry with Allen along the interior.<\/p>\n

Vance Joseph: On McMillian\u2019s interception, Joseph did what he does best: disguise coverages, make the quarterback think one thing and capitalize when he makes a mistake. Joseph showed a Cover 1 look before the snap, then rotated into a Cover 2 defense once Darnold got the ball. The Seahawks quarterback tried to fit a ball over the cornerback and in front of the safety, but McMillian \u2014 essentially playing the safety on the play \u2014 easily stepped in front of the pass. That was one of several great play calls by Joseph, whose defense has helped the Broncos avoid back-to-back losses.<\/p>\n

Here are 11 clips of the different things the Broncos defense did to try to limit JSN:
*Press trail man + safety over the top
*Safety away robbing
*Safety to his side robbing
*C2 to his side<\/p>\n

JSN had 2 catches for 11 yards in the 1st half but still had 12 for 134 on the day pic.twitter.com\/69dxvxp61y<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) October 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Winning ways: The Broncos continue to defy football norms. They win close games despite an inept offense. They play tremendous defense without their All-Pro cornerback and safety. They even made several fourth-quarter mistakes Thursday. Yet Denver is 4-2, with wins over three Super Bowl contenders. Not a bad start.<\/p>\n

Stock down<\/p>\n

Bo Nix<\/p>\n

Nix\u2019s statistics have gone from bad to worse over the last few weeks<\/a>. Here\u2019s a stat from CBS Sports\u2019 Doug Clawson<\/a> that captures just how bad Nix is: Among 701 qualified QB seasons through six games in the past 20 years, Nix ranks dead last in average pass length (4.9 air yards per attempt). On Thursday, his average pass in the second half was thrown behind the line of scrimmage.<\/p>\n

Seattle\u2019s defense is designed to take away those chunk plays, but the NFL is a copycat league. Teams will keep sitting back until Nix forces them out of it.<\/p>\n

Broncos\u2019 receivers: Is Nix not playing well? Of course. But the Broncos\u2019 wideouts aren\u2019t consistently getting open, either. The Seahawks played more man-to-man coverage in the second half, and Denver\u2019s wide receivers struggled to separate. Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton are struggling to make an impact, and the combination of Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims Jr., and Lil\u2019Jordan Humphrey hasn\u2019t replaced Pat Bryant\u2019s production. The Broncos\u2019 receivers should be one of the team\u2019s strengths. Instead, they\u2019re barely getting the ball.<\/p>\n

Play-calling hopes: If you had visions of Sean Payton standing on the sideline as a white knight, the savior of the Broncos\u2019 offense, those hopes are probably fading. The group has the same issues it had under offensive coordinator Davis Webb. While there have been brief flashes of improvement \u2014 the two drives in the first half and better play in the red zone \u2014 the offense is also performing worse on third down, Nix is regressing and the Broncos haven\u2019t hit a big play in ages.<\/p>\n

Tight ends: Evan Engram had a great game last week but caught only two passes Thursday. Adam Trautman is a blocking-only tight end at this point in his career, and Nate Adkins\u2019 snap count is dwindling. Denver\u2019s tight ends have been better than last year, but Thursday was a step backward.<\/p>\n

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