It wasn’t pretty, but the Denver Broncos moved to 4-2 on Sunday in a London showdown against the now 0-6 New York Jets. The Broncos scored only one touchdown and a couple of field goals, but it was enough to hold off the Jets by a score of 13-11.
The Bleacher Report NFL Staff picked the lack of offensive production as the key takeaway for Denver after they just managed to outscore a Jets offense that is near the bottom of the league. According to the B/R Staff, Denver needs an offensive spark immediately.
“The Broncos narrowly escaped London with a victory over the winless Jets, and they only scored one touchdown against Gang Green's 31st-ranked scoring defense,” they wrote in a recent article. “The Broncos have scored more than 20 points twice in six games. They need to get rookie running back RJ Harvey more involved in the offense with his pass-catching ability out of the backfield or find a way to unlock big plays in the passing game.”
Although they left London with a win, there’s certainly nobody in the Broncos organization who is thrilled about their Week 6 performance. Coming off the back of a comeback Week 5 win against the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, a matchup against the winless Jets should have been a breeze for Denver. Instead, the offense trailed New York 10-11 heading into the fourth quarter after putting up just 10 points in the first three.
Luckily, the Broncos were able to sneak out with a win, but the questions about the offense have only been legitimized. They sit 21st in the league in points per game with just 21.7 per game. Second-year quarterback Bo Nix has taken a slight step back from his impressive rookie season, seeing declines in his passer rating and QBR. He threw for just 174 yards and one touchdown on Sunday.
Altogether, Denver racked up just 246 total yards of offense and was forced to punt the ball six times against a Jets defense that is one of the worst in the league. No rusher for Denver, besides Nix, logged a rush for at least 10 yards, causing questions about the legitimacy of their ground game.
If the Broncos are true contenders, something needs to change with their offense. Broncos fans saw the consistencies in Week 1, barely squeezing out a win against the Tennessee Titans, who were coming off a season in which they were awarded the first overall pick because of how bad they were. Now, in Week 6, fans saw again that the current offense could not be trusted come playoff time.
There’s no choice but for the Denver offense to bounce back in Week 7 against the New York Giants. The Giants have demonstrated multiple times this season that they are capable of scoring a large number of points, and the Broncos need to prove they can match it. Kick off is set for 4:05 p.m. EST on Sunday.