Week 6 is about the point where seats start getting hot around the NFL. Five games isn’t a huge sample for coaches and players, but it’s enough time to see with some confidence that preseason expectations or hopes aren’t going to be met. It’s enough time for fans to be frustrated and make their feelings known in stadiums and on social media.
There’s no joy in seeing anyone around the league lose their job or miss out on an opportunity, but it’s also a reality that everybody who works for a team faces on an annual basis. Today, I’m going to run through some of the players and coaches on the proverbial hot seat after the first five weeks of the 2026 NFL season and break down what’s going wrong and what might happen next.
In no particular order, I’ll hit on three head coaches, two coordinators and 10 players with questions about their futures with their current teams. And I’ll begin with a coordinator for a winless team that entered the season with postseason aspirations.
Mike McDaniel, OC, Los Angeles Chargers
It seems natural to talk about what must be the most disappointing unit in football this season. And it’s fair to note that, yet again, injuries have waylaid the Chargers on the offensive side of the ball. In last week’s 23-17 loss to the Broncos, the Chargers were down their top two wide receivers (Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey, the latter of whom was active but did not play a single snap) and their three best offensive linemen (Joe Alt, Tyler Biadasz and Rashawn Slater). Justin Herbert’s lone touchdown pass went to Hayden Rucci, a tight end who was signed off Jacksonville’s practice squad in mid-September.
Even so, McDaniel’s old employers in San Francisco have had plenty of injuries on offense and things are still humming along just fine for the 49ers. Frankly, even before the injuries really slowed this offense down, things didn’t look the way they were supposed to in Los Angeles. The Chargers haven’t been able to run the ball all season, ranking 28th in EPA per play on designed rushes.
McDaniel has been insistent on running into heavy boxes with limited success; the Chargers have faced a numbers disadvantage in the run game 36.2% of the time per NFL Next Gen Stats, which is the fifth-worst rate in the league. It’s fine to run into loaded boxes if you trust your linemen to pull it off, but the Chargers are averaging 2.5 yards per carry and minus-0.32 EPA per play on those attempts while picking up first downs at the fifth-lowest rate in the NFL.
What has to be more concerning for coach Jim Harbaugh, though, is the regression of Herbert. Through five weeks, Herbert is last among qualifying passers in Total QBR (26.6). By several notable metrics, Herbert has completely collapsed as a passer:
Herbert’s sack rate is up, and he leads the league in interceptions with seven. And while a couple of those have been the customary snaps where a Chargers receiver is suddenly allergic to the football at the point of arrival and coughs it up to a defender, Herbert deserves plenty of blame for the problems the Chargers have had as games wear on. He has a 5.0 QBR in the fourth quarter, throwing four picks and taking a league-high five strip sacks. His fourth-down interception against the Broncos last week was one of the worst throws you’ll ever see Herbert make, a lowlight he seems adamant about challenging every week once the Chargers get behind late in games.
There’s usually not much benefit to making an in-season change at offensive coordinator, given that the positional coaches were likely brought in by that coordinator and would just be running the same scheme if they were promoted to the playcalling role. The most experienced assistant on McDaniel’s staff is passing game specialist Adam Gase, which won’t inspire much hope among Chargers fans.
They do have Harbaugh, though, and there’s a clear line that the offensive coordinator in Los Angeles can’t cross. It’s one thing to field a disappointing run game or fail to live up to expectations, but the offense can’t break Herbert. If McDaniel can’t turn things around, and Herbert continues to struggle badly, the Chargers might make a move sooner rather than later.
David Montgomery, RB, Houston Texans
The latest in a series of offseason additions to try to fix a moribund Texans running game, Montgomery hasn’t been able to transfer his successful three-year stretch in Detroit to Houston. Though the 2019 third-round pick scored three touchdowns in the Week 1 loss to the Bills, Montgomery has averaged just 2.7 yards per carry and posted a league-worst 23.1% success rate. You can help compensate for those issues with explosive runs, but Montgomery has just one gain of 10-plus yards across 52 carries this season.
Montgomery left last week’s win over the Titans in the first half with a groin injury, potentially opening up the door to a larger role for Woody Marks. The second-year pro had what qualifies as a great game on the ground for a Texans back, turning 15 carries into 62 yards while adding four catches for 23 yards as a receiver. The Texans have been hesitant to turn the lead role over to Marks, but Montgomery’s struggles and the groin injury might leave them no choice.
DaRon Bland, CB, Dallas Cowboys
Bland was a first-team All-Pro after he picked off nine passes in 2023, but the interceptions have dried up since then. He has just one INT across 24 games since the start of 2024. And when Bland isn’t creating significant value with his takeaways, teams find it too easy to pick on him in coverage. He has allowed passer ratings north of 100 in coverage in each of the past three seasons, per Pro-Football-Reference.com, including a career-worst 126.2 mark this season.
Jerry Jones and the Cowboys have had reasons to give Bland a long leash. Despite missing most of the 2024 season with a foot injury, the Cowboys gave their young corner a four-year, $90 million extension before the 2025 season. Bland missed more time last year before pronouncing himself to be all the way back this season ... but he has looked overmatched in coverage. Tez Johnson’s 64-yard catch against the Cowboys in primetime last week came on a play where Bland was badly juked and fell to the ground like he was the child in one of those “dad crosses over baby” videos.
The Cowboys didn’t really have solutions to replace Bland on the outside at cornerback, but that has changed. Cobie Durant should be set to return from his hamstring injury in the coming weeks, while Joey Porter Jr. will be back in the lineup after missing the loss to the Buccaneers with an illness. When healthy, they should be the starters on the outside for Dallas. Bland could end up in the slot, but the Cowboys have been playing Reddy Steward there, and rookie safety Caleb Downs could move there once Jalen Thompson returns from his hamstring injury.
Dallas restructured Bland’s deal just before the season, which reduced his cap hit and made his contract more tradable. But it also creates more dead money if (or more realistically when) the Cowboys decide to move on from the 27-year-old cornerback. Bland is owed $13 million next year, and at the moment, it’s only guaranteed for injury. The Cowboys don’t want to be on the hook for that money, so it would hardly be a surprise if they took Bland out of the lineup altogether once Durant and Porter are back on the field to avoid triggering those guarantees, which would happen if Bland suffers a significant injury.
Trey Smack, K, Green Bay Packers
Life is tough for rookie kickers. Coaches don’t trust you. Fans want an excuse to turn on you. You might get only a handful of kicks to prove that you’re an NFL-caliber player. The leash is a little longer if you’re a draftee, but competitive teams just don’t have much patience with unproven kickers once the season actually begins and games are on the line.
As a sixth-round pick, Smack was clearly prioritized by the Packers as the replacement for Brandon McManus, who might have cost Green Bay its wild-card game with the Bears after missing two field goals and an extra point. And before Sunday, Smack was having a reasonable start to his pro career, having missed just one field goal and one extra point through four games.
In a blowout victory over those same Bears, though, Smack struggled badly. He missed an extra point and field goal attempts from 43 and 47 yards out, matching McManus’ performance in the wild-card loss. All three kicks were wide. And though the Packers have to deal with the reality that it’s hard to kick in wintry conditions once the calendar hits December and January in Green Bay, this game was played on a 73-degree day with modest wind.
One bad game shouldn’t sink Smack. If he struggles in the weeks to come, though, the Packers might not be willing to go into the winter with an inexperienced kicker, especially given what happened to them in the postseason a year ago.
Todd Bowles, HC, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
One win against the Cowboys slowed the criticism of Bowles, whose Bucs had gotten off to an 0-4 start before turning things around against Dallas. The victory ended a stretch where the Buccaneers had gone 2-11 since their bye in 2025, including the first four games of the 2026 season. That run cost them what appeared to be a procession to the NFC South title in 2025 and put them behind the eight ball to start 2026.
With rookie Jalon Daniels in at quarterback for the injured Baker Mayfield, Bowles will have to hope his defense can carry the Bucs in the weeks to come against the likes of the Panthers, Falcons and Bears. Bowles’ defense was primarily responsible for the collapse after the bye in 2025, ranking 26th in points allowed per drive and 28th in defensive EPA per snap over that span.
Things have been better on that side of the ball to start the year in 2026. Tampa is fourth in EPA allowed per play and ninth in points allowed per drive. The Buccaneers are somehow doing that with a formula that doesn’t make sense. Bowles’ defense is blitzing at the fourth-highest rate in the league, but the Bucs rank only 28th in sack rate. Instead, they are winning by stopping the run at the fifth-best rate in the NFL by success rate and getting off the field on third down, where they have the eighth-best defensive stop rate.
Bowles started his second head coaching stint by making three straight playoff appearances, including a blowout victory over the Eagles in 2023. That success bought Bowles some slack. It’s also clear that the second-half collapse took a toll on the organization, leading Bowles to fire five assistants after the season. That’s usually the last move before a head coach follows his former assistants out the door. If Bowles can stick in the NFC South race and stay afloat until Mayfield returns, he should be back in 2027. If Tampa goes on another losing streak, though, Bowles might have to walk the plank.
Dan Quinn, HC, Washington Commanders
Well, you saw the end of that Giants-Commanders game. While I pin some of the blame for what went wrong on Jayden Daniels and David Blough, as the head coach, Quinn is the one most responsible for making sure his young QB and offensive coordinator know what to do in those situations. Given that Quinn has handed over the defense to Daronte Jones, the 56-year-old should be even more focused on the sort of game management issues that cost the Commanders a shot at a victory Sunday.
Since Quinn stunningly led the Commanders to a 12-5 season and a trip to the NFC Championship Game in his debut year with the organization, things have quickly gone south. Injuries to Daniels sank the team’s chances in 2025, but Quinn was blamed for leaving Daniels in the game when he suffered an elbow injury; Washington was trailing by 31 points in the fourth quarter of a loss to the Seahawks.
Washington’s defense also collapsed in 2025, finishing 30th in points allowed per drive, leading Quinn to fire defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. The organization invested heavily in free agency to shore up the unit this offseason and hired Jones to take over the defense, but the early results haven’t been much better, as the Commanders are up to only 26th in points allowed per possession. They blew a 14-point lead to the Giants on Sunday and couldn’t stop Jameis Winston from moving the ball in overtime, with the defense bailed out by a missed field goal and a Cam Skattebo fumble.
Quinn’s team is now 3-13-1 over its past 17 games, with one of those victories coming against the Eagles backups in Week 18. Any attempt to draw a line under 2025 as an aberration hasn’t been successful, given that the defense has continued to struggle and Daniels has already suffered another elbow injury in 2026. I thought calls to fire Quinn for the endgame on Sunday were too harsh, but there’s no denying that this is the sort of disaster that lingers in fans’ minds.
If Quinn can’t turn things around, there’s the risk of this becoming the sort of tenure-defining collapse that Quinn was on the other side of when the Hail Mary past Tyrique Stevenson Sr. in 2024 was the beginning of the end for Matt Eberflus in Chicago.
Mike Sainristil, CB, Washington Commanders
Just as Quinn excelled in 2024 and hasn’t seemed like the same difference-maker since then, Sainristil has also struggled to live up to his first year in Washington. A second-round pick who was expected to be a high-end slot cornerback, Sainristil quickly emerged as an option on the outside for the Commanders, finishing ninth in Defensive Rookie of the Year balloting. He then picked off two passes in the postseason, leading to hope that Sainristil could be a young cornerstone for the Commanders.
Instead, he has gone backward. He was one of the many Commanders who struggled last season, allowing a passer rating north of 100 despite intercepting four passes. This year, Sainristil looked even worse in the Week 1 defeat against the Eagles, losing a deep ball in the air to Dontayvion Wicks for Philadelphia’s biggest play of the day. He has allowed a 147.6 passer rating in coverage.
Quinn already made his move in Week 3, benching Sainristil after two frustrating starts in favor of veteran journeyman Rasul Douglas. Sainristil ran ahead of Fabian Moreau as the team’s nickel cornerback Sunday, playing 48% of the defensive snaps, but the Commanders are about to get 2025 second-round pick Trey Amos back from a fractured fibula. Sainristil will need to play well when he does get on the field to have a shot at winning his job back.
Nick Sirianni, HC, Philadelphia Eagles
Though its impact was muted by its timing in London and the Commanders fiasco that ensued later on Sunday, Sirianni didn’t cover himself in glory at the end of Sunday’s frustrating loss to the Jaguars. While the Eagles understandably wanted extra yardage to make Jake Elliott’s field goal to take the lead easier, Sirianni saw rookie wide receiver Makai Lemon step out of bounds after making a catch, stopping the clock for the Jaguars. And after taking the lead, Sirianni elected to kick the ball into the field of play, with the ensuing return setting the Jags up for a last-second field goal to steal the game away.
Sirianni’s decision wasn’t quite as cut-and-dried as it might seem. For one, the Eagles might have been just as likely to allow one big completion after a touchback as they were to give up the kickoff return that got Jacksonville in field goal range. If this were one isolated endgame scenario for an otherwise successful organization, the hot seat for Sirianni wouldn’t extend outside of Philadelphia sports radio.
Of course, the Eagles have been frustrating for quite a while now. The offense wasn’t at its best in 2025, with Philly going 3-4 down the stretch before losing in the wild-card round at home to the 49ers. The Eagles dramatically changed things during the offseason, firing coordinator Kevin Patullo and moving on from legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. They hired Sean Mannion as the new OC to reimagine the offense by going under center more often and relying on a zone-rushing attack.
Those moves haven’t worked. The Eagles are 30th in EPA per play on offense, down from 17th a year ago. Injuries to Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith and multiple offensive linemen (and the non-injury-related departures of Cam Jurgens and Lane Johnson) haven’t helped, of course, but there really hasn’t been a sustained stretch all season where the offense has looked explosive, regardless of who was on the field.
And as I wrote about last year, Sirianni’s lack of clear ownership over any one particular piece of the operation makes him more likely to receive blame for what goes wrong than credit for what goes right. Sirianni’s résumé through five-plus years as Eagles head coach is as good as anybody’s in NFL history, but for various reasons, there’s a clear perception that Sirianni isn’t the one driving much of that success.
And while Sirianni has racked up a gaudy win-loss record during his time in Philadelphia, the Eagles are 5-7 over their past 12 games, including a three-game losing streak. Three of their next four games are at home against the Panthers, Cowboys and Giants, all games we would expect Sirianni’s team to win. If the Eagles win games, even in ugly fashion, fans will tolerate the struggles. But if the losing streak continues, well, the sudden end to Doug Pederson’s tenure with the team in 2020 should tell you just how quickly an otherwise successful run can come to a sudden close in Philadelphia.
Kelvin Sheppard, DC, Detroit Lions
When the Lions lost coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn after the 2024 season to head coaching gigs, Dan Campbell chose a pair of relatively low-key replacements. He hired John Morton from the Broncos to take over the offense and promoted Sheppard, already on staff as the team’s linebackers coach, to run the defense. Given how successful Campbell’s prior hires had been, the new coordinators deservedly started their tenure with some credit in the bank.
That credit is all used up. Morton didn’t make it through one full year as offensive playcaller. Campbell took over the role during the 2025 season before firing Morton after missing the playoffs. Sheppard made it through Year 1, but unless things improve, it’s tough to see him surviving through the end of a second season in the defensive role. The Lions are a disaster on defense, ranking 29th in points allowed per drive and last in EPA per play. They can’t get off the field on third down and have allowed teams to convert 81% of their red zone trips into touchdowns, the third-worst figure in the league.
Is that on coaching? I’m skeptical. Watching the Lions closely, I see a defense that simply doesn’t have enough talent as opposed to one that makes routine schematic mistakes. The Lions comfortably have the worst secondary in the NFL, a product of injuries (which have cost them one of the league’s best safety duos in Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph) and off-field behavior (leading to the release of 2024 first-round pick Terrion Arnold, who admittedly wasn’t living up to expectations before being cut amid felony charges of armed robbery and kidnapping).
Longtime starter D.J. Reed hasn’t played well, but the players around him shouldn’t be expected to make up a solid secondary. Sheppard is running out veterans on low-cost contracts such as Chuck Clark, Roger McCreary, Rock Ya-Sin and Christian Izien as regular defensive backs. Players such as Thomas Harper and Avonte Maddox weren’t playing well, either, but they’ve also gone down injured, leaving the Lions without alternatives. It’s telling that Detroit was excited to turn to rookie Keith Abney II, a 5-foot-9 fifth-round pick, as a potential savior at corner against the Cardinals last week. It’s difficult to recall a secondary that was less imposing on paper, let alone how it has played in reality.
The good news for the Lions, if there is any, is that the front four is playing better. The Lions have the fifth-best sack rate in the league. They’re the second-best tackling team in terms of missed tackle rate, although that doesn’t cover situations where the Lions simply aren’t close enough to a ball carrier to even attempt a tackle. If the Lions could hold up in coverage, the defense might improve to passable, which would be enough to win plenty of games given the way the offense is playing.
One major reinforcement is on the way in Branch, who has returned to practice and should be back on the field in the next couple of weeks from his Achilles injury. Abney had a solid start against the Cardinals and should feature in the defense more often moving forward. And though Joseph’s future is unclear after suffering a knee injury last year, the hope is that the Lions will have the 2024 first-team All-Pro back at some point in 2026.
If Abney and Branch can’t right the ship, something will need to change. General manager Brad Holmes is aggressive and could look to make a move at the trade deadline, with Campbell admitting that the Lions were in on the Joey Porter Jr. negotiations before the Cowboys swooped in and traded for the Steelers corner. Sheppard will obviously hope to get more help, but the Lions can’t compete for a title if their defense continues to blow leads in the fourth quarter.
Maxwell Hairston, CB, Buffalo Bills
The reckoning might have already come for Hairston, Buffalo’s first-round pick in the 2025 draft. His rookie year was compromised by a knee injury that cost him the first six games of the campaign. He ended up starting just three games all season and then missed the two postseason games that ended Sean McDermott’s tenure with an ankle injury.
This season was supposed to be a fresh start for Hairston, but his first month was a mess. The 23-year-old allowed two touchdown passes in the 29-26 loss to the Patriots, leading defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard to publicly encourage Hairston to temper his emotions. Hairston also left the locker room after the defeat without speaking to the media before returning and apologizing a day later.
The Bills have said the right thing publicly, but actions speak louder than words. Against the Rams on Monday, Hairston’s snap share cratered with the return of Christian Benford. The Bills kept Davison Igbinosun in the lineup ahead of Hairston, who played just 15 snaps on defense. Igbinosun committed a pass interference penalty in the red zone and allowed a touchdown catch, which won’t help his case, but he still appears to be ahead of Hairston on the depth chart.
Jerry Jeudy, WR, Cleveland Browns
The Browns are excited about their young wide receiver duo of Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion, although Concepcion was forced out of last week’s loss to the Jets with a concussion. Harold Fannin Jr. is a building block at tight end, too. There’s less chatter about Jeudy, whose role in the offense has been inconsistent. Jeudy saw steady snaps last week after Concepcion’s injury, but he had been playing about half of the offensive snaps on a weekly basis beforehand, dropping down to 38% in the Week 4 win over the Steelers.
Jeudy has a line of eight catches for 81 yards this season, but he’s still only 27 years old and two years removed from a 1,229-yard campaign for the Browns in 2024. It’s tough to see a long-term future for him in Cleveland, but how he plays over the next few weeks might determine whether there’s real interest at the trade deadline from a team that wants to give the 2020 first-round pick a meaningful role. If not, Jeudy might lose snaps to Boston, Concepcion, Isaiah Bond and tight ends in the second half of the year.
Jacoby Brissett, QB, Arizona Cardinals
I have been an avowed Brissett fan for years given his incredibly low interception rate and ability to at least competently sustain just about any offense in football. Through five games in 2026, though, Brissett is averaging just 5.6 yards per attempt and has thrown five picks. One of those was a Hail Mary against the Lions last week, but Brissett threw three interceptions in the previous week’s loss to the Giants, including a pick-six on the final snap of the game to Deonte Banks.
Brissett’s ability to pick up first downs on sneaks and complete a high percentage of his passes appeals to Total QBR, which has him 16th among all quarterbacks through five games. But with Brissett 30th in yards per dropback and the Cardinals last by a considerable margin in explosive play rate (5.5%) on offense, this is a case where I think my own feelings and those of the organization might disagree with QBR.
The Cardinals aren’t particularly motivated to win games this season given the likelihood that they’ll draft a quarterback in 2026. They’re also likely interested in seeing what they have in third-round pick Carson Beck, who posted a 125.4 passer rating in the preseason. If there’s a trade market for Brissett at the deadline, the Cardinals might consider just moving forward with Beck and Gardner Minshew II as their two options under center. And if not, Brissett might be sitting behind the rookie by the time we get to November anyway.
Genesis Smith, S, Los Angeles Chargers
It’s tough to be a rookie on a collapsing team that’s drastically coming up short of expectations, and Smith isn’t the biggest problem in Los Angeles. And the fourth-round pick did come up with two interceptions of Josh Allen in Week 3. But Smith has otherwise struggled in coverage, having a particularly rough day against the Raiders in Week 2. He also appeared to be at fault on the lone touchdown pass of the day for the Broncos on Sunday, flying into the flat to take a covered receiver while letting Courtland Sutton run past him for an easy score.
The Chargers haven’t had star safety Derwin James Jr. on the field for the past couple of games, but the five-time Pro Bowler should be back in the lineup after recovering from a hamstring injury. Jim Harbaugh could choose to treat the rest of the year as a lost cause and stick with his young guys to get them reps, but I wouldn’t be shocked if the Chargers tried to get their most reliable players on the field and stuck with veterans James, Tony Jefferson and Elijah Molden as their three safeties when they’re all healthy.
Brian Thomas Jr., WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Though the Jaguars keep winning, Thomas’ role in the offense continues to shrink. After a disappointing 2025 season was chalked up to an ankle issue that made it painful for him to run, hopes were high that he would be able to get back to his rookie-year level of production in a second season under Liam Coen in 2026.
So far, Thomas has nine catches for 105 yards through five games, including a doughnut in Sunday’s win over the Eagles. (He did nearly catch a touchdown, only to narrowly step out of bounds.) The coaching staff also doesn’t seem particularly desperate to get the 2024 first-round pick on the field, with Thomas playing just 48.2% of the offensive snaps. In recent weeks, the Jaguars have preferred rookie sixth-round pick Josh Cameron to Thomas for his blocking and big-play ability, particularly when they get into larger personnel groupings.
The Jaguars are committed to Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers as their top two wideouts and want to play with Brenton Strange and Nate Boerkircher on the field, which leaves a limited role for Thomas. Trading Thomas would also open up more opportunities for Travis Hunter, who has played just 21 offensive snaps while starring on defense. The organization has repeatedly insisted that it has no interest in trading Thomas, but at some point, having a valuable young player wasting away on your bench can’t be the best thing for the player or the team.
Bo Nix, QB, Denver Broncos
Let’s frame this one appropriately and be clear. I don’t think the Broncos are about to bench Nix for backup Jarrett Stidham, who hasn’t been particularly impressive as a pro and didn’t play well in last season’s AFC title game loss to the Patriots while filling in for the injured starter. The hot seat here is more in the big picture, with Nix becoming eligible for a contract extension after the season and a decision on his fifth-year option in 2028 (at a projected $29.9 million) coming due next spring.
Whether it has been a product of Nix recovering from the ankle injury that ended his 2025 season, not feeling right in Davis Webb’s version of the offense or simply being too antsy about where to go with the football, he hasn’t been an effective quarterback through five games in 2026. Nix’s 41.5 Total QBR is 24th in the league. He’s averaging just 5.8 yards per attempt, and only 27.8% of his throws are producing first downs, the fourth-worst rate in the league.
In years past, Nix has produced a relatively high floor by avoiding mistakes and creating plays with his legs, generating first downs for an offense that wasn’t getting them through the air. Nix’s interception rate and sack rate are still much better than league average, but he’s generating just 7 rushing yards and 1.2 first downs per game as a runner, down from 23 rush yards and two first downs per game over the prior two seasons.
Throughout his career, Nix has been an erratic quarterback given his propensity to throw off-platform and on the move. He has a strong arm, but getting the most out of that arm requires Nix to set his feet and throw with a solid base, and all of his movement makes it difficult to actually access his arm strength. When he’s playing well, Nix is an accurate passer. When he’s not, the ball is all over the place, and Nix can struggle with just getting the ball out before routes have even developed.
Expectations for the offense were high after Nix’s performance in the divisional round win over the Bills and the offseason acquisition of Jaylen Waddle, who gave the Broncos a much-needed threat at all three levels across from Courtland Sutton. As the Broncos struggled through the first month of the season, frustration for Denver’s slow start on offense naturally fell on Webb, the 31-year-old former quarterback who had taken over playcalling duties from Sean Payton to start the season.
It wasn’t much of a surprise when Payton reclaimed playcalling responsibilities before last Sunday’s game over the Chargers. Yet Nix might have looked worse in Payton’s first game back at the helm against what has been one of the league’s most unimposing defenses. Nix went 16-of-27 for just 123 yards, and the Broncos converted only one third down in 12 tries. All 20 of their points came on drives that started on Los Angeles’ side of the field.
The Broncos have more insight into the status of Nix’s ankle than we do, and it’s possible that the 26-year-old is playing through pain. Even if we take a step back and look at his full career, though, Nix is 19th in Total QBR since entering the league. He’s 22nd in yards per dropback and 29th in yards per attempt and first-down rate. And Nix has done that with one of the league’s best offensive lines and an elite architect designing the offense and calling plays.
The Broncos were hoping Nix would take a step forward after his great performance in the postseason and the addition of Waddle. If Nix doesn’t get there, will the Broncos want to commit to him as their quarterback of the future on a second contract?