What’s the Broncos’ biggest concern after an 0-2 start to the season?

Renck: Tigirly Gold, a country music duo, began the national anthem Sunday with muted microphones. The sold-out crowd sang along — the least they could do with the game clock counting down for Russell Wilson in 2022. The flyover was noticeably late. Then the Steelers kicked off and things got worse. Welcome to the 2024 Denver Broncos season — now we stink more than ever. Rockies fans get tacos when the team scores seven points. Will the same apply to Broncos country if Denver scores seven points? Sean, the Broncos are facing a winless September. Nothing new for coach Sean Payton, who has yet to win a game that month in five attempts with the Broncos. What’s your biggest concern as they embark on a two-game road trip?

Keel: Bo Nix’s break-in. Mentally more than physically. Broncos country will get tired of hearing this, but breaking in a rookie quarterback is a process. Usually painful. I pulled the resumes of six Week 1 starting signal-caller starters, all their respective franchise saviors, from the ’21 and ’23 draft classes. Bryce Young, now on the bench at Carolina, made five starts before earning his first NFL win; Trevor Lawrence, same contract. Among Young (2023), C.J. Stroud (2023), Anthony Richardson (2023), Lawrence (2021), Zach Wilson (2021) and Mac Jones (2021), the first average win came in Week 4. Consider yourself warned, Aaron Rodgers.

Renck: The Broncos have been held to a touchdown in their first two games for the first time since 2006. The offense has the rhythm of Elaine Benes dancing in “Seinfeld.” No running game is easy to execute. My biggest concern is more macro. Will Bo Nix suffer a crisis of confidence because of flawed game plans and a spate of failures? He’s mentally strong, but they need to simplify the verbiage, the personnel groupings, and get back to basics before Nix falls into a depression too deep to overcome. If I had known they were going to leave him down 45 times a game, and not play by his college playbook, I would have advocated starting Jarrett Stidham for the first month.

Keel: Which dovetails nicely with my other big concern as Payton moves his team from Broncos country to Waffle House country: It still feels, at times, like Sunshine Sean is trying to shoehorn his QB into the Saints’ offense circa 2018, rather than moving toward a middle ground that helps Nix play to his strengths and gain confidence along the way. I understand yelling at a rookie on a train platform that he needs to find a way to jump on a moving train. What I don’t understand is the lack of an arm reaching outside of the moving train to help said rookie find a foothold.

Renck: It’s time to shake up the backfield rotation. Tyler Badie carried the ball once for 16 yards against the Steelers. And Javonte Williams carried the ball 11 times for 17 yards. Williams has to come off the bench and Badie will get the first chance. There’s no secret this week. The Bucs are going to blitz. And the easiest way to stem the pressure is to dig in with big gainers. It sounds easy. It’s not. The Broncos’ struggles extend beyond the backfield. The offensive line lacks consistency. Left guard Ben Powers told me that’s unacceptable and the group takes it personally. It’s an important step, but it will feel hollow without a lot of progress in the running game.