EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsKANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Stumbling out of the gate has been a theme for the Denver Broncos since Sean Payton was hired as coach prior to the 2023 season. And those slow starts are coming to the forefront again after Monday night's season-opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.The 31-10 meltdown at Arrowhead Stadium was the first game of a brutal opening stretch that could potentially put the Broncos in a big hole by mid-October if recent history repeats itself. Denver's next five games are against 2025 playoff teams that won at least 11 games last season. And two opponents in that stretch -- including the Jacksonville Jaguars, who the Broncos (0-1) will play in their home opener on Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, Empower Field at Mile High, CBS) -- scored 27 or more points in Week 1 victories."We're kind of tired of these slow starts," said edge rusher Nik Bonitto in a sullen locker room as Monday night turned into Tuesday morning. "Coming out every year and not starting the way we want. I don't think it was a wake-up call; we've just got to execute better from everybody."Monday's loss dropped the Broncos to 4-8 in September under Payton. They've won only one of their past four openers and are trying to avoid their third 0-2 start in four seasons. Even last season, when Denver went 14-3 and advanced to the AFC Championship Game, started with two losses in the first three weeks. So, starting faster was a talking point throughout August, both publicly and behind the scenes."I don't think we've really started fast here in my three years -- I'm pretty sure we haven't," Payton said just before the season began. "... I think that's going to be important."It could be vitally important to the Broncos' playoff pursuits given how frontloaded their schedule is this season. Next up are the Jaguars (1-0), who got four touchdown passes from Trevor Lawrence in their season-opening win over the Cleveland Browns. Jacksonville won the AFC South with a 13-4 record last season, which included a 34-20 victory in Denver last December that snapped an 11-game Broncos winning streak.That will be followed by a Sunday night home game against the preseason Super Bowl favorite Los Angeles Rams (0-1). Then the Broncos will hit the road to play the San Francisco 49ers (1-0) and Los Angeles Chargers (0-1). The tough stretch finishes with a short-week, Thursday night game at home against the Seattle Seahawks (1-0).The schedule softens considerably after that point, as the Broncos face only one opponent that finished last season with a winning record in Weeks 7-15. But they know they can't afford to dig a massive hole before that."I think everybody knows [Payton] has talked about a fast start," Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton said. "You go into every game thinking you want to get going early and you don't really think about anything more than the week in front of you. So, it's just like, if we start fast each week that's a fast start of a season."Monday's loss was particularly troubling, especially the run defense and quarterback Bo Nix's unsettled play in Davis Webb's first regular-season game as the playcaller.Nix was sacked four times for only the second time in his three-year career. He fumbled three times (losing one) and threw an interception, finishing 17-of-28 with 131 passing yards with a touchdown and the interception. The Broncos gained only 176 total yards on a mere 47 plays (32 pass plays, 15 runs), with Payton saying the Broncos' game plan had "a lot of throws, not enough runs."The leaky run defense is a growing issue, as Monday was the third consecutive game (including playoffs) the Broncos had given up at least 141 rushing yards dating to last season. The Chiefs pounded out 220 rushing yards, 173 coming from running back Kenneth Walker III. Kansas City pointed its rushing plays toward the middle of the formation, often pinning linebackers Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad away from ball carriers. The Chiefs broke 19 tackles Monday, according to ESPN Research, with Walker breaking 11. The Broncos broke six as a team."Coach had us in the right spot and we missed tackles and plays we were in the wrong spot," Singleton said. "... We're going to point the fingers at ourselves."Monday wasn't the fast start the Broncos hoped for, but they can take solace in being able to dig out of slow starts the past two seasons to make the playoffs. Denver started 0-2 in 2024 and was 5-5 in November before finishing on a 5-2 kick to reach the postseason. Last season's 1-2 start was erased by 13 wins in the Broncos' final 14 regular-season games. Even in 2023, when the Broncos' 0-3 start included an infamous 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Denver recovered and had a 6-5 record entering December before finishing 8-9.But that all seemed like ancient history as the Broncos quietly packed their gear to leave Arrowhead. Now they must find solutions on the practice field the rest of the week before they face the Jaguars in Game No. 2 of a rough six-week opening stretch."We know this is not going to be the whole season for us," Nix said. "That's the first time since Baltimore [a 41-10 loss in Week 9 in 2024] that we've been beat pretty handily like that. ... I do think [Monday] was not a good representation of us as a team."
