What We Need To See From the Denver Broncos in Week 2

The Denver Broncos escaped their Week 1 battle against the Tennessee Titans with a 20-12 victory, but the Broncos will have to improve if they're going to live up to preseason expectations.

With that in mind, what do we need to see from the Broncos in Week 2 to buy into the hype going forward? Let's look.

The Offense Needs To Run the Ball Early and Often

In the first 15 offensive plays of Sunday's debut, the Denver Broncos passed the ball 13 times and ran the ball just twice. That's a horrible imbalance made even worse when you consider how the Broncos probably should be playing, considering their defense and relative inexperience at QB.

This week against the Colts, they have to find a greater sense of balance so that they can better support both their defense and Bo Nix.

One consideration that should make that investment in the run game more palatable would be giving R.J. Harvey more playing time. In Week 1, Harvey totaled 70 yards on just six carries. Harvey gained 58 of those yards after contact, which is the fourth-best total so far this season.

Most importantly, though, we finally saw Harvey in pass protection, and he held up well enough to earn a greater share of snaps moving forward.

Defense Needs To Prove Dominance Wasn't a Fluke

Any way you slice it, the Denver Broncos' defense looks extraordinary.

The Broncos allowed just 133 yards and 62 passing yards, both of which were the lowest marks in the league in Week 1. They also tallied six sacks on Cam Ward, which was the most of any team in Week 1. On the Titans' 14 offensive drives, they had only seven that gained even a yard.

Advanced metrics love Denver's defense too. Not only do they rank first in EPA/play allowed (-0.429) and success rate allowed (22.8%), but they are also dramatically superior to their peers. The gap between the Broncos and the second-place EPA defense is the same as the gap between second-place and seventh, and the distance between the Broncos and the second-best success-rate defense is the same as the distance between second-place and 25th.

Despite all that though, we can't crown the Broncos as the transcendent defense they appear to be until they demonstrate repeatedly, and against greater competition. At face value, Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts aren't too threatening, but they scored on every single one of their Week 1 possessions.

If the Broncos can stifle the Colts' offense like they did the Dolphins, they'll start to stake their claim as a truly special unit.

Bo Nix Needs To Re-Find His Mistake-Free Play Style

As a rookie, the best thing Bo Nix did was limit costly mistakes. He had the league's fourth-lowest pressure-to-sack rate, alongside Jordan Love, and MVPs Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. Nix also tied Joe Burrow for the NFL's fifth-lowest turnover-worthy-play rate.

He wasn't making high-level plays at the same clip as those peers, as he posted just the 23rd-best 'big-time-throw' rate, but he avoided mistakes at the same elite rate. As his career progresses, one would hope he will make those special plays on a more regular basis, but it can't come at the expense of drive-ending mistakes like turnovers and sacks, especially with a defense this good.

With this defense, if Nix can simply avoid mistakes while doing just enough to guide the offense to 20+ points, the Broncos will easily hit a double-digit win total and glide into the postseason.

Unfortunately, in Week 1, he was a gaffe magnet. Nix was credited with four turnover-worthy plays, which Tennessee turned into three takeaways. Ultimately, Nix was largely responsible for six of the Titans' 12 points, with his turnovers enabling scoring drives of just 9 yards and 23 yards.

Against a Lou Anarumo defense that is known for its baffling coverage disguises, Nix has to be more careful to avoid mistakes.