Despite their win over the Tennessee Titans, there are multiple Denver Broncos who need to step up this week against the Indianapolis Colts.

All three of them are on the offensive side of the ball, which makes sense given how dominant Denver’s defense was last week.

These 2025 Broncos will likely be led by the defense, as we saw in 2024 and in Week 1. But the offense needs to carry their weight too.

3 Denver Broncos who need to step up in Week 2

The numbers from last week’s game aren’t pretty.

The Broncos won 20-12 over a Titans team that is likely to be one of the worst in the NFL this year. And the offense struggled to play consistently.

Notable numbers from Denver’s offense:

  • 20 first downs, but 6 of them came from Tennessee penalties
  • 3 turnovers
  • 4.0 yards per pass
  • 6-15 on 3rd down (40%)
  • 1-3 in the red zone (33%)

So, who needs to step up this week?

J.K. Dobbins

Dobbins was the starting running back, and it’s certainly not all on him as to why the Broncos running attack was bad for most of the game. But as a veteran, he needs to do more to make the most of his carries. He finished with 16 rushes for 63 yards (3.9 YPC) which doesn’t sound like that bad a day. But, if you take out his 19-yard run in the 4th quarter, it’s only 3.4 YPC.

The best news about the run game was rookie R.J. Harvey’s 50-yard rush in that same drive, which set Dobbins up with his 19-yard touchdown run. There’s no doubt people are going to be chomping at the bit to see more of Harvey this week and in the future; if Dobbins doesn’t step up he could be sidelined in favor of the rook.

Bo Nix

Nix’s struggles have been rightfully publicized here and elsewhere.

He threw two interceptions in the season-opener and lost a fumble, too. Anytime your starting quarterback turns the ball over three times, it’s a huge issue that must be fixed. But it wasn’t just those bad throws–the second one being forced into a double-covered Troy Franklin–he wasn’t calm and collected at basically any point last week.

Nix was possibly too pumped up; it was the first game of the season, after all. And the way the Broncos need him to step up is by being more even-keeled, settling into the game, and taking what the defense gives him. he also needs to use his legs more and be more aggressive on the ground.

I have a feeling Nix will bounce back this week.

Marvin Mims

The same goes for Mims, who like Nix, turned the ball over.

Mims’ was a fumble on a punt return and gave the ball to Tennessee on Denver’s 24 yard line. The Broncos defense completely bailed out Mims by forcing the Titans to lose 25 yards on back-to-back sacks by Jonah Elliss and Zack Allen. Mims was the bet punt returner in the NFL last year, being named to the All-Pro team.

He knows how crucial it will be to protect the ball on special teams, especially when fielding punts in Denver territory. Outside of that, it would be great to see Mims make more of an impact on the offensive side of the ball this week, too.

The Broncos (1-0) and Colts (1-0) go head-to-head on Sunday in Indy with a 2:05 p.m. MT kickoff. Denver looks to go to 2-0 and they’re the slight favorite (-1.5) on the road.

Indianapolis scored on seven straight drives last week against the Dolphins, which was the first time they’d done so since Peyton Manning was their quarterback. So, the Broncos defense needs to bring the pressure again like they did against Cam Ward, while Nix and the offense need to be ready in case there’s a shootout.