Broncos report card: Anemic offensive outing, head-scratching decisions add up to 13-6 loss to Steelers in home opener

OFFENSE — F

Early on the Broncos didn’t move the ball. When they finally did, rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw a brutal interception in the end zone looking for Courtland Sutton in the third quarter.

The Broncos ran the ball on their first two plays but netted zero yards. Denver mustered just 62 yards and three first downs on 20 first-half snaps as Pittsburgh took a shutout into the fourth quarter.

Denver didn’t have a completion longer than 8 yards in the first half and Nix’s seven completions resulted in just 39 yards over that span. Denver went 1-of-5 on third down, took two sacks and didn’t generate a red zone chance until the third quarter — one that ended in a turnover.

DEFENSE — B

The Broncos defense did what it could to keep the team within striking distance. Through three quarters, Pittsburgh was averaging 4.2 yards per carry and Justin Fields had 117 passing yards. The Steelers mounted one long touchdown drive in the first half and their two field goals after that came after a turnover on downs and Nix’s interception in the second and third quarters, respectively. The Broncos didn’t take the ball away early in the game and Pat Surtain II had a rough day at the office — three penalties and got beat a couple of times by George Pickens. Overall, though, this group did more than enough to win.

SPECIAL TEAMS — B

This group has been Denver’s best so far. They haven’t generated a ton in the return game yet — not many have with the NFL’s dynamic kickoff rule so far a dynamic dud — but the coverage units have been really good. Justin Strnad helped down a punt at the 1-yard line and Riley Dixon averaged 52.3 yards per punt. On a rough offensive day, the unit did its job to continually force Pittsburgh to drive the length of the field rather than letting the field position battle tilt too far.

COACHING — F

A trio of decisions of note for Payton: Early in the fourth quarter he opted for a 34-yard field goal to trim Pittsburgh’s lead to 13-3 instead of trying to cut it to a one-score game.

Earlier, it looked like he was going to punt on fourth-and-7 from the Pittsburgh 39-yard line with 2:32 left in the first half. Then he opted against both that and a 57-yard field goal and put his offense on the field. An incompletion led to a Steelers’ field goal drive just before halftime.

Then with 1:54 remaining and just one timeout remaining, Payton opted to kick it deep rather than attempt an onside kick.

A week after Nix dropped back to pass 27 times in 40 first-half snaps against Seattle (67.5% designed pass rate), he dropped back 13 times in 20 first-half snaps against Pittsburgh (65% designed pass). Tyler Badie got one carry, gained 16 yards and then was barely heard from again.

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