Mile High Report
Stupid question, but that’s how one sports analyst is deciding the Broncos’ production from 2024 will drop off this coming season.
CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr doesn’t have too much confidence in Bo Nix and the Broncos next season.
Denver made his list of ‘Five teams poised to take a major fall’ in 2025.
“Replicating the No. 1 pass rush from last season will be very difficult, especially from a team that finished with 63 sacks and five players who had 5+ sacks last season. The Broncos need more production from their running backs and better blocking up front to take the pressure off Nix too.”
He added that while the Broncos may not have the “brutal slate” of games this coming season as last, road trips to the Texans, Eagles and Commanders will be a handful, along with the usual competition in the AFC West.
“Winning 10 games is possible for Denver, but it will be tough for the Broncos to match that win total and go back to the playoffs.”
Kerr did backpedal a bit from his “take a major fall” headline by saying the Broncos’ dive in 2025 may just be a small one.
“The Broncos deserve all the credit in the world for winning 10 games and making the playoffs with a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix. The last-season slide never happened as Denver held off a late Cincinnati charge to make the playoffs, snapping an eight-season playoff drought. Nix protected the football throughout the year while showing the big-play capability with his arm, especially late in the year.”
So this is why reporters who don’t really cover a team should not even try in the offseason.
Of course, the defensive production last season was amazing and may be hard to replicate. At the same time, with the core of defenders returning and the ability to add more talent and strength in the offseason, the “drop-off” doesn’t have to be monumental — or even a thing at all.
And on the flip side, why would we assume Nix and the offense wouldn’t take a step forward after a year of NFL experience, a year of chemistry and again, the likelihood of adding more talent? I’m counting on it and have no reason to believe otherwise.
The other team’s on Kerr’s list were Pittsburgh (yes), Indianapolis (likely), Minnesota (possibly) and Washington (what?)
Predicting number of wins is a fool’s errand and shouldn’t be the only barometer for determining if a team has improved over a previous year. But if the 2024 Broncos got 10 wins out of a really tough schedule and a rookie QB — not to mention an insane dead cap hit — I see only better things happening in 2025.
During Super Bowl Week on Radio Row, Ed McCaffrey spoke with Steve Atwater about the Broncos’ season and Bo Nix, and he, of course, had a much better read on the team. Granted,...
