Despite all the hope, the Denver Broncos are the same team, different year even with Bo Nix at quarterback.

Denver’s defense was stout against the Seattle Seahawks, especially in the first half. But as they wore down due to many 3-and-outs by the offense, Seattle asserted themselves.

The Broncos conservative offense, which lacked creativity and explosive plays, limited their chances of winning on opening weekend. They kicked off Nix’s career and the season with a big, fat loss.

Denver Broncos are the same team, even with Bo Nix at quarterback

All the draft and preseason hype around Bo Nix didn’t take away the fact he’s a rookie quarterback.

Even when he was officially named starter, we knew Broncos fans would need to be patient when he struggles.

And struggle, he did.

Nix threw two picks, including one at the goal line, and simply wasn’t good enough in his first start.

Sean Payton dumbed down the offense for his rookie, that seemed clear, allowing him to try and build confidence with short passes. And while Nix was completing short ones, they weren’t enough to sustain drives.

Denver turned an early interception in Seattle’s red zone into a 3-and-out field goal. Similarly, when the Seahawks muffed a punt on their own nine, the Broncos went backward and kicked again.

Denver’s defensive line repeatedly snuffed the Seahawks front and QB Geno Smith. They sacked Smith twice, scored two safeties, and held Seattle to a mere nine points at half.

Simply, the defense did their job, and the offense consistently blew their chances.

Then, the Seahawks took over after half. When Nix’s offense went 3-and-out, fumble, 3-and-out, Seattle scored 17 unanswered points to basically put the game away.

“Yeah, that was, I felt like, a bad decision,” Nix said of his interception at the goal line. “We would have had points. They got the ball at the 1. We got a safety after that, so our defense bailed us out.”

That’s a refrain we’ve all become used to in Broncos Country. “Our defense bailed us out.”

Go all the way back to 2015, Denver’s Super Bowl 50 winning season, and the defense has carried the offense. Mediocre and poor QB play has left the offense like a rudderless boat at sea, off-course.

Poor QB play was only one of many issues for Broncos offense Sunday

Nix’s two picks were indefensible and disastrous. They don’t resemble NFL-level QB play.

The initial interception killed the offensive momentum they found during that drive and ended their second-longest drive of the day with no points.

And on both interceptions, he stared his receiver down and threw into double or triple-coverage. And the first, he even threw off his back foot.

It’s hard to say which Nix pick was worse, because Denver was threatening to come back until this terrible throw:

In his first start, Nix lacked composure. He had happy feet, unnecessarily climbed the pocket, and was inaccurate all day.

There is no quick fix for Nix. This will likely be a long year determining if he’s the long-term answer at QB.

But he was far from the only negative on offense.

There was little to no run game, and part of that was why Nix threw the ball 42 times in his first start.

“I don’t know how many balls we dropped, and so I’ve said that before, for any quarterback playing, we’ve got to be more effective running the football,” Sean Payton said after the loss. “If (you) take away his scrambling yards, I think we’re like somewhere (around) 60 yards rushing to their 140, so not nearly good enough.”

Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin averaged 2.7 and 2.88 yards per carry, respectively. Denver’s offensive line needs to open up bigger holes, while those backs need to hit the ground running.

Then, as Payton alluded to in his answer before, there were too many dropped passes by receivers.

“Our protection was average at best and I believe this,” Payton explained of the O-line and went on about his receivers. “At one point in the game I came to the bench and talked to the receivers and said look, let’s go, you know? I don’t know how many drops we had, but, man, let’s help this guy.”

Same stuff, different Sunday.

Payton showed he was disappointed in the offense’s play, which is his realm of expertise.

From the offensive line’s lack of protection, to poor running, to dropped passes, and inconsistent quarterback play, Payton’s offense was obscene.

Sure, this is a team in the middle of a rebuild.

But these Denver Broncos are the same team, different year.

They need to show marked improvement over the course of the season at basically every position. Payton’s Broncos need to prove the rebuild is working, that they’re moving toward a possible playoff team in 2025. Because he likely won’t get many years as head coach of the same old sad Broncos.