ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In the NFL, a few points can be the difference.

The Broncos have suffered a pair of one-possession losses to begin the 2024 season, and wide receiver Courtland Sutton knows the team's red-zone performance must improve to flip the team's fortune.

"We've seen [it] in the past two weeks," Sutton said Wednesday. "We've had trips down there, but we just haven't been able to get the ball in the end zone. Both these games, the defense has played their butts off to give us a chance to be able to go and put even one touchdown. Us scoring and putting one touchdown on the board would've changed the outcome a little bit differently last week. Maximizing those opportunities when we get down there [is important]. You hear me say it all the time: three points is nice, and I trust that [kicker] Wil [Lutz] will get us those three points when we need them, but we also need to find a way to score touchdowns."

Sutton said for the Broncos to improve on a 1-of-7 start in the red zone, Denver's offense must focus on "finding ways to do good, better" inside the 20-yard line.

"Good just isn't enough for where we are right now," Sutton said. "We have to find a way to maximize those trips as much as we possibly can. It's going to take all of us. It literally takes all of us, literally every single one of us. It takes the whole village to be able to make sure that this situation gets resolved and we start finding ways to put touchdowns on the board."

While quarterback Bo Nix deadpanned that he hasn't "figured out a whole lot" about what it takes to succeed in the red zone in the NFL, he did note the basic principles are the same at any level of football.

"I think like anything else, that's a work in progress," Nix said. "We've got to continue to find ways to move the ball and gain just subtle yards to where we can put the ball close enough to get in some goal-line situations and put the ball in the box. Red zone is always hard, no matter what level you're on, because the field shrinks. The defense doesn't have as much ground to cover. We've just got to do a good job of being efficient in the red zone and continue to move forward."

Against Todd Bowles and the Buccaneers' defense in Week 3, that won't be an easy task. Tampa Bay is tied for sixth in the NFL in scoring defense and held a potent Lions offense to 1-of-7 in the red zone in a Week 2 win.

"He does a great job as a head coach, and then defensively there's a lot you have to prepare for," Head Coach Sean Payton said Wednesday. "They play the run very well. They're a multiple pressure package-type defense. They can pressure you weak, strong. They did a good job last week near the end of that game just playing coverage and keeping the ball in front of them and tackling well. They're well-coached defensively, and they're well-coached as a football team. I consider him a good friend and someone who's done a good job there."

As Sutton suggested Wednesday, a jump in offensive performance against Bowles and Co. likely begins near the goal line.