Perhaps no NFL team is more separated from its preseason expectations than the Denver Broncos. At 3-8 and freshly flexed out of a primetime matchup against the leading MVP candidate, the proud Broncos franchise is trying its best to salvage a lost season.
Head coach Nathaniel Hackett sits on the warmest seat among NFL head coaches. But at this point, I’m told it’s unlikely any move is made to fire him during the season. Sources believe the Walton-Penner group, which officially purchased the Broncos earlier this year and had no say in Hackett’s hiring, aren’t discussing any in-season move — while also issuing no guarantees.
Before last week, the Broncos had been in nine one-score games this season and won three of them. The 23-10 loss in Carolina last week was the biggest margin of defeat for the Broncos this season, and they face stiff tests the next two games against the Ravens today and Chiefs next week.
When Broncos co-owner and CEO Greg Penner spoke to reporters in London before Denver’s 21-17 win against Jacksonville, he repeated how the team needed to get wins in the second half of the season.
“I’m supportive of Nathaniel, and we really want him to succeed,” Penner said when asked if he could assure Hackett would be the coach for the remainder of the season. “As you guys know, this is a week-to-week sport. So we’re always evaluating things, and our goal is to win as many games in the second half as we can.”
The Broncos haven’t won in North America since September. The offense has been the worst in the NFL by many standards. They’ve scored just four touchdowns in five home games this season, and they have just one touchdown pass at home.
The Broncos owe the worst scoring offense in the league and average 14.09 offensive points per game when the league average is 21. It’s the fourth-fewest offensive points per game for an NFL in the past five seasons.
Hackett, who had been an offensive coordinator at three previous stops, was hired in part to help bring the Denver offense up to today’s standards. The Broncos haven’t had an offense ranked in the top half of the league since the Peyton Manning era, and adding nine-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson was supposed to only help that.
Instead, no team is worse than the Broncos at scoring in the red zone.
“It’s a problem when your core competency is showing to be a deficiency,” said one league source.
Hackett has remained…
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