AI Summary
5 min readOrange Crushed: The Broncos' Disastrous Opener and What It Reveals
The Kansas City Chiefs ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns through Kenneth Walker in his debut, and the Denver Broncos could do nothing about it. The final score—31-10—did not capture how thoroughly the Chiefs dominated Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium. But the real story, as Ben Maller framed it, was not about the Chiefs' success. It was about how the Broncos, coming off a deep playoff run and a dominant regular season, produced what he called "the worst performance ever by a team that had as good a record as the Broncos did the year before."
The Offensive Collapse
Bo Nix managed 131 passing yards at less than five yards per attempt, with one touchdown, one interception, three fumbles, four sacks, and a passer rating below seventy. Maller described the Broncos offense as unable to do "diddly poo," a phrase borrowed from former Fox Sports Radio host Jim Morrow. The rhythm never materialized. Sean Payton had changed play callers, promoting Davis Webb to keep him from leaving for another team, and the result was an offense that looked lost. Maller compared watching the Broncos to using a "smell-o-vision" that emitted the odor of "rotting seafood in a dumpster behind a Taco Bell in the summer."
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
Never miss an episode of The Ben Maller Show
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What you'll learn
- 1 (03:22) **Show Open & Monday Night Football Setup** - Ben Maller introduces the episode's focus: breaking down the Broncos' blowout loss to the Chiefs, evaluating Bo Nix's debut, grading Jalen Waddle's performance, and assessing Patrick Mahomes' return from injury.
- 2 (07:10) **The Real Story: Kenneth Walker's Dominance** - Maller pivots to the actual headline of the game, which was not about the quarterbacks but about the Chiefs' new running back.
- 3 (08:51) **Sean Payton's Postgame Explanation** - The Broncos head coach admits his team was beaten in every phase, highlighting poor third-down and rushing numbers.
- 4 (09:20) **Bo Nix's Brutal Debut** - Maller breaks down the quarterback's performance, calling it a "manager special" of a "sloppy bowl."
- 5 (14:08) **Defensive Collapse Against AFC West Rival** - Maller argues the loss was not just on the offense, as the defense also failed to stop Kansas City.
- 6 (16:04) **Jalen Waddle's Invisible Night** - The host grades the big offseason acquisition with an "F minus," calling him an "expensive decoy" rather than an offensive dynamo.
- 7 (19:07) **The Troy Aikman Conspiracy Theory** - Maller suggests broadcaster Troy Aikman, who is also on the Miami Dolphins' payroll, subtly criticized Waddle's hands.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Ben Maller talks about talks about what went wrong for Bo Nix and the Broncos "high-powered offense" in their blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on MNF, grades Jayden Waddle's debut for Denver, if Andy Reid should be encouraged by the play of Patrick Mahomes, and more!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More from this podcast
The Ben Maller Show →