By picking Nix twelfth in the NFL draft, the Broncos made a statement that head coach Sean Payton is still in charge after he benched embattled quarterback Russell Wilson last season and the team finished with an 8-9 record.
Nix threw for 15,352 yards and ran for 1,613 in his five-year college career at Auburn and Oregon universities before heading to Denver to begin his professional stint. The Nix era hasn't started yet, but he's already supported in the locker room, with his teammates voting him one of their six captains before game one.
The Broncos also signed cornerback Patrick Surtain II to a four-year, $96 million contract extension on September 4; Surtain has been a standout defensive player for the team.
But will Payton’s swing on a rookie quarterback propel the team to the playoffs for the first time since 2015? It all starts on Sunday against the Seahawks, whom the Broncos have faced four times in season-opening games. Each team has won two of those contests, with Seattle winning the most recent matchup in 2022...which ended up as the worst season in Broncos history.
The Broncos have generally been successful in season openers, with a 41-22-1 record in those games heading into Sunday’s contest, but the team hasn't won one since 2021, with some major heartbreakers to start the season.
Here are the Denver Broncos' five worst season-opening losses, including during the franchise's ten years in the American Football League.
Worst Opening Game Losses in Broncos History
1963, vs. the Kansas City ChiefsFinal Score: 59-7
Long before the present era of Patrick Mahomes dominance in Kansas City, the Chiefs were traumatizing Broncos fans. This absolute beatdown is painful even with sixty years of distance. It is still the biggest margin of loss in an opening game in Broncos history.
1964, vs. the New York Jets
Final Score: 30-6
The Broncos didn't fare any better to start the next season, losing by over three touchdowns to the New York Jets. The AFL was not kind to Denver's upstart team.
1966, vs. the Houston Oilers
Final Score: 45-7
This game represents the second-biggest losing margin by the Broncos in week one. The 1960s were just not their decade.
1980, vs. the Philadelphia Eagles
Final Score: 27-6
The Broncos managed to score just two field goals in this contest after Philadelphia had only been predicted to win by a single field goal. Oof.
1982, vs. the San Diego Chargers
Final Score: 23-3
Just two years later, the Broncos would once again fail to score a touchdown on opening day. The team would go on to finish last in its division that season while winning just two games, so the opening loss was pretty foreshadowing.
1999, vs. the Miami Dolphins
Final Score: 38-21
It turns out the crushing 70-20 Broncos loss to the Dolphins last season isn’t the first time that Miami has dunked on the Broncos. This seventeen-point loss particularly stung because it showed that John Elway’s retirement really meant the end of the heyday for the Broncos after the team had won back-to-back Super Bowls in previous seasons.
2005, vs the Miami Dolphins
Final Score: 34-10
Losing by over three touchdowns is never fun, but that’s just what the Broncos did to start the 2005 NFL season. However, unlike the omen some opening-day blowouts turned out to be for the team, this season the Broncos rebounded and ended up making it all the way to the AFC Championship Game — before losing to the Steelers 34-17.
Bonus: Although it wasn’t a blowout or a loss, the Broncos ended up tying with — you guessed it — the Miami Dolphins in 1971, with a final score of 10-10.
Blown-lead addition: This game didn't have a lopsided points margin, but the 1994 season opener against the San Diego Chargers ranks as one of the worst opening-day losses for the Broncos, because the team blew a giant lead. The Broncos jumped out to a seventeen-point lead in the first quarter, but even three touchdowns from John Elway (one of them caught by Shannon Sharpe) couldn’t hold the Chargers, and Denver lost 37-34. The game is still tied for the fourth-biggest blown lead in Broncos history, according to Pro Football Reference.
