The Broncos lack talent at the skill positions and are dealing with numerous injuries throughout the offensive line. Denver will have to deal with the uncertainties that come with starting a rookie quarterback. But despite all the caveats, what the Broncos brought to the field under offensive-minded head coach Sean Payton simply wasn't good enough.

Luckily for the Broncos and the psyche of the fan base, the NFL is essentially a week-to-week league. Denver can turn things around just as easily with solid performances over the next two weeks against a slumping Saints team and a struggling Panthers team. The Saints started well in the first two weeks of the season, but have lost four straight since then due to injuries and setbacks on offense and defense.

Since Week 3, the Saints defense ranks 25th in EPA/Play. They've done well against the pass, ranking 14th in EPA/Play rankings, but they're last in metric against the run and second to last in rush success rate.

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Thursday night may not be a coming out party for Bo Nix and the Broncos' passing offense, but look at the offensive line and running backs having a day. If not, maybe it's time to really ask yourself what's so broken about Denver's rushing attack, considering how much the team has spent on the offensive line.

The Saints could be doing even worse than their numbers over the last four weeks suggest, if what they did against Tampa Bay last week is any indication. Last week the Saints gave up 51 points and 594 yards to the Bucs.

The Saints missed a total of 15 tackles and allowed Baker Mayfield to throw for 325 yards while going just 1 of 8 on passes of more than 10 yards. A defense that is now in complete disarray in a short week.

While the Panthers weren't as weird as the Saints last week, the team struggled mightily against the run, posting the second-worst EPA/Play performance against the run in Week 6 (ahead only of the Saints) while also struggling against the run the passport. Ranked 30th in EPA/Play defense, 30th against the pass and 29th against the run, the Panthers look like a team destined for a lottery pick in the 2025 NFL Draft (at least they have their first-round pick this season pick). .

It would be unfair to expect the Broncos, who have been one of the worst offenses in the NFL so far this season, to look like the Peyton Manning-led Broncos of 2013 against the struggling Saints and Panthers. Denver has several injured players and young players that the team is developing and evaluating.

Considering how poor the offense has looked for most of the season, facing the next two defensive opponents should bring some confidence and success on offense.

If Denver can't put together even a league-average offensive performance over the next two weeks, it's probably fair to question whether this unit can improve enough to stay in the playoff race and potentially waste one of the best defense/special teams combinations in the league this season.

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