ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- After a season opener that saw Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix throw two interceptions and lose his first fumble since 2021 when he was at Auburn, coach Sean Payton took time Wednesday to redirect any pointed fingers of blame.
"I don't know how many games I've called, but that's one of those where I came away like, 'Man, I've got to be a lot better,'" Payton said Wednesday. "... If you're not careful, the game can be over and you're on to the next game and you haven't really ... had the debrief properly. We're really trying to pay attention to that.''
Payton said he has reexamined the game plan from the 20-12 victory over the Tennessee Titans and what calls he sent in to Nix in a variety of situations. Aside from the three turnovers, Nix was 25-of-40 passing for 176 yards.
Denver trailed 12-10 early in the third quarter. Nix had 22 pass attempts by halftime, while the Broncos' running backs had just seven carries for 24 yards in the first half.
"If you looked at the down-and-distance, the hashmarks, some of the calls, from a timing standpoint, it's more of some of the early plays, in the first half, Payton said. "And it's cleaning up some of the details.''
"You want to go out there and score points,'' Nix said. "... I know I can be a lot better.''
Including a fumble on special teams, the Broncos had four turnovers in the game.
Payton noted that Denver was the only NFL team to win Week 1 while losing the turnover battle. The Titans had five possessions start inside the Broncos' 50-yard line and were held to just three field goals.
Nix said that he believed he might have been too aggressive on each of the interceptions but that he wanted to make sure he walked "the fine line'' between taking care of the ball with a defense like the Broncos have and still be on the hunt for explosive plays in the offense.
"It's not about the stats, not about perfection, or things from the outside," Nix said. "It's about a standard that I have for myself. ... With our defense, we can definitely just make sure, at times, to give them great field position and we'll get the ball back and we can keep going right back to work.''
Denver next visits the Colts (1-0), who forced three turnovers in a 33-8 win over the Miami Dolphins.
Nix said that he always appreciates Payton's support, but that he must take responsibility for the turnovers and mistakes.
"Ultimately, you have the ball. You have the ultimate say where it goes,'' Nix said. "... It's good I know [Payton] is going to do everything he can to be the best for this team.''
