ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The first NFL steps for Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix were a bit wobbly, but coach Sean Payton believes much of that was due to Nix not getting enough help from his friends in the season opener.
That will need to change in the weeks to come, starting with this Sunday's home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers (4:25 p.m. ET, Empower Field at Mile High, CBS). And that change must be generated by a long list of people -- which, according to Payton, includes himself.
"We have to do better around him," Payton said. "... We've got to be better, I got to be better."
In the 26-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Nix's introduction to regular-season football was a bumpy one. The smooth preseason efficiency against mostly reserves was replaced with less time to throw, a balky running game and far fewer choices of where to go with the ball. Nix went 26-of-42 passing against Seattle for only 138 yards (3.3 yards per attempt), threw two interceptions and was sacked twice. Thirteen of his completions went for four or fewer yards as the Denver offense largely spun its wheels, with only two pass plays gaining more than 10 yards.
"We have to make plays around [Nix]," receiver Josh Reynolds said. "... When we have a chance, make some plays, just clean up stuff."
Nix called it a great "growing game," but the pages turn quickly in the NFL, and there are considerable defensive challenges waiting for the rookie over the next three weeks. The first comes Sunday, when Nix gets another "first" -- his first home start -- against a swarming Steelers defense led by edge rusher T.J. Watt, last season's sack champion. And that's before a nine-day road trip to Tampa Bay, West Virginia and New Jersey, as the Broncos will stay in the Eastern time zone between their Week 3 game against the Buccaneers and Week 4 matchup against the Jets, with a few practice days at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia tucked in between.
That's three opponents led by head coaches with defensive roots who have consistently made life difficult on quarterbacks, young or otherwise. Let's start with the Steelers, who held Atlanta's veteran starter, Kirk Cousins, to 155 yards passing this past Sunday. Pittsburgh also sacked Cousins twice and intercepted him twice.
Payton can give his quarterback a helping hand with more balance in the playcalling. In last week's loss, Payton decided to pivot from a struggling running game and have Nix drop back to throw 49 times, including penalty snaps. All five of Nix's rushes were scrambles on called pass plays, including his 4-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. Considering that the Steelers' two sacks and two picks against Cousins came on only 27 Atlanta dropbacks, Denver repeating the Seattle game plan Sunday against Pittsburgh might not be the best idea.
The Broncos could also be without Nix's blindside blocker on Sunday. Left tackle Garett Bolles, who made his 100th career start Sunday in Seattle, is a question mark after leaving the opener with a calf injury. He did not practice on Wednesday but participated Thursday.
Payton wasn't happy with the pass protection against Seattle, and facing Steelers edge rushers Alex Highsmith and Watt with a limited or sidelined Bolles would be a tough task. The Steelers also use safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in a variety of ways, bring pressure from a variety of spots in the formation and routinely don't let teams establish the run. Pittsburgh didn't score a touchdown in Atlanta -- Chris Boswell kicked six field goals -- but never trailed in the second half due to its defense, led by Watt's standout performance (one sack, three pressures).
"I don't get into naming who the top defensive players are, but he's in that discussion," Payton said of Watt. "He's certainly disruptive in the run game and disruptive in the pass game. Each film you look at, he's beating doubles. He's very athletic. I think he's very strong, and he can bend. Those are all good traits to have, and he's exceptionally smart."
Denver's running game didn't help Nix very much in Seattle. The Broncos gained 99 yards on 25 carries, but 35 of those yards were Nix scrambles to escape a collapsing pocket. The Broncos' three running backs -- Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and rookie Audric Estime -- had 64 yards on 20 carries.
"There may be a game where we plan on throwing it 40 times, [but] not many," Payton said of the need to help Nix with the ground game. "I would say from an assignment standpoint, our landmarks, some of those things have got to get cleaned up. Then I'd tell you, there's a couple of runs that we've got to see better vision-wise from the running back position. ... Overall, we've got to improve in that area."
Estime won't be available, as he was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with an ankle injury and will miss at least four games. That leaves it to Williams and McLaughlin, who averaged 2.8 yards per carry on 18 combined rushes against the Seahawks, with eight of those carries going for 1 yard or less.
A repeat of those numbers against the Steelers would provide Pittsburgh's defense with even more opportunities to pressure Nix in third-and-long situations.
Two receivers, Reynolds (Achilles) and rookie Devaughn Vele (ribs) are on the injury report this week and did not practice Wednesday, though Reynolds participated Thursday. They were the leading performers in Broncos' limited passing attack against Seattle, with Reynolds catching five passes for 45 yards and Vele gaining 39 yards on eight receptions. Last season's leading receiver, Courtland Sutton, had four receptions for 38 yards.
"We're going to do a good job getting our guys the ball, getting out playmakers touches," Nix said. "... We're all going to do better, just making plays and it starts with me."