The Denver Broncos climbed to second place in the AFC West thanks to a strong defense, a surprisingly good rookie quarterback, and their ability to win away games.
However, none of these strengths showed up on Sunday in a tough 41-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
After winning five out of six games and looking like a playoff contender, Denver (5-4) struggled against a team that reached the AFC title game last season. The Ravens feature two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, who dismantled a Broncos defense that was considered one of the best in the league.
Rookie Bo Nix faced constant challenges from a Baltimore defense that stepped up when it was most needed. “Look, we got beat today,” coach Sean Payton said. “We didn’t do nearly enough things well enough against a good football team.”
Before Sunday, the Broncos hadn’t allowed an opponent to gain 350 yards or score more than 26 points. The Ravens easily surpassed both, gaining 396 yards and scoring over 30 points early in the third quarter.
Jackson passed for 280 yards and three touchdowns. Derrick Henry ran for 106 yards and two scores, and the Ravens turned a close match into a lopsided win by scoring just before halftime and again on their first drive of the third quarter.
“It’s a big swing,” Payton acknowledged. Nix didn’t look like the confident rookie who had thrown nine touchdown passes and only one interception during Denver’s 5-1 run after starting 0-2.
The 12th overall pick in the 2024 draft completed 19 of 33 passes for 223 yards, but his first throw of the day was intercepted. Nix took responsibility for the tough game.
“This is miserable, it’s no fun. You never want to lose games like this,” he said. “We have to face it. You either sit there and point the finger at somebody else or you take ownership of it. The only way to get over it is to look internally. That’s what we’re going to do.”
The offense had some big mistakes on fourth down. The Broncos succeeded on only one of five fourth-down attempts, with that one conversion coming from a trick play that resulted in their only touchdown.
Courtland Sutton threw a pass to Nix that brought the score to 10-7 in the second quarter.
After that, the Ravens outscored Denver 31-3. “You know when you play a good team like this on the road, you want to get into the fourth quarter (with the score close),” Payton said. “We weren’t able to do that.”
The Broncos were 3-1 on the road before this game, and they will face the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs next weekend. So, Denver needs to move on as quickly as possible.
“The most important thing — and I just got finished telling this to the team — is there are going to be games when you go in on Monday and it’s not going to taste good for any of us,” Payton said. “We’re not going to like it, but that’s life. We’re not making any excuses. We got whipped today.”
