It turns out that Russell Wilson wasn’t the only reason the Broncos were bad last season

After the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50, a mass exodus of veteran leadership deteriorated the team’s winning culture. Since then, the Broncos product has been tough to watch on the field.

Even after making a huge swing with quarterback Russell Wilson, Denver couldn’t find a foothold. The Broncos finished the 2022 season with a 5-12 record, their third season with five or fewer wins since 2017. Although they improved to an 8-9 record. In 2023, it was still their seventh consecutive season with a losing record.

Quarterback Russell Wilson has been blamed for Denver’s woes over the past two seasons, and while he certainly deserves his fair share of criticism, many of the Broncos’ problems were beyond his control.

After a disastrous 2022 campaign under former head coach Nathaniel Hackett, the team found itself in deep trouble. The Broncos brought in Sean Payton to right the team, but a complete coaching overhaul brought the team back.

In 2022, the Broncos fielded one of the best defensive units in the league under defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. When Evero joined the Carolina Panthers in 2023, Payton Vance hired Joseph as the team’s new defensive coordinator.

Joseph tried to soften up the Broncos defense in his schematic change, but it resulted in one of the worst starts to a season for a defense in NFL history.

“We (as players) tried to do one thing and (coaches) tried to help us, and nothing fit together,” Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton told The Athletic. “That’s what happened to us in the first five weeks.”

The Broncos produced their worst DVOA ever through five weeks. The poor start was on full display in Week 3, when the Miami Dolphins scored 70 points on the hapless Broncos defense. Denver allowed 938 rushing yards during that five-game span, the most rushing yards allowed by a team over five games in more than two decades. With a 1-4 record to start the season, Denver’s campaign was over before it even started.

The season reminded us of the importance of chemistry and cohesion. In the NFL, the talent gap between players is marginal and the margin for error is even smaller. Often the difference between winning and losing comes down to the imperceptible intricacies and details.

The Broncos finished the 2023 season with a 7-5 record, which gives them some optimism to build on as they prepare for the 2024 season. For defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, last year’s failures serve as a reminder of the importance of chemistry and cohesion.

“I would say that will happen naturally in your second year with the same schedule,” Joseph said earlier this month. “It will be easier for the players to understand the system. We expect to play better early and that’s what it comes down to.”

Offensive and defensive units must move in harmony, with timing and rhythm. Like synchronized swimmers, all eleven players must work together in harmony for the team’s success. That level of chemistry requires something the NFL is often unwilling to give: time. Far too often, coaches and players are given a short leash to achieve results. Year after year, NFL teams experience high turnover at every level of their organization, from front office managers to practice squad players.

After three different head coaches, offensive coordinators and defensive coordinators in the last three years, the Broncos will have some consistency this season. While there are new assistant coaches and players on the roster, the return of Payton, Joseph and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi will give the Broncos some familiarity and cohesion as they try to climb back into the playoffs.