DENVER — As Josh Reynolds leaped into the air, the Broncos' fortunes seemed to momentarily shift.
After an afternoon in which the Broncos' offense struggled mightily, Reynolds' 49-yard trick-play reception appeared to represent a reversal of fortunes.
The play, which came after a 26-yard completion to Courtland Sutton, began with a direct snap to Javonte Williams, a handoff to Sutton and a pitch back to quarterback Bo Nix. Trailing 10-0 with just four total first downs, the Broncos' offense looked to change the tenor of the game in a flash.
The potential, unfortunately, was not realized in the Broncos' 13-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Two plays after the deep completion to Reynolds, Nix threw an interception to Cory Trice Jr. while looking for Sutton in the end zone.
"That's something that we worked on all week, and it was there, and we hit it," Nix said. "It's stuff like that that you look at it as an offense, and you have to get points. You can't turn the ball over like I did right after that with the momentum. I can sit here and say that, but I just have to go out there and execute better.
Nix said the throw was "a bad decision" that fell on his shoulders, but Head Coach Sean Payton also noted there was a "mistake in the route" and "some dirty hands on that play."
The Broncos would get on the scoreboard with a 35-yard Wil Lutz field goal with 10:45 to play to cut the lead to 13-3, but the Broncos weren't able to get into the end zone on the possession. Nix completed a 22-yard pass to Reynolds on fourth-and-6 while facing pressure — another of Reynolds' four catches on a 93-yard day — but Denver stalled out after a first-and-10 at the Pittsburgh 20.
"Time-wise we felt like we were still in a good position, looking at the clock," Payton said of kicking the field goal.
Denver forced a three-and-out on the ensuing drive, but the Broncos were forced to punt and ultimately ran out of time. The Broncos tallied one more scoring drive — featuring three completions of at least 10 yards — but Denver kicked a field goal after the two-minute warning. With just one timeout, the Steelers were able to bleed the clock down to 18 seconds before punting it away — and Nix's last-gasp attempt from his own 34-yard line was intercepted.
"I just finished telling the offensive coaches, that side of the ball needs to get cleaned up, and that starts with me," Payton said. "We've got to start really looking at who we're asking to do what, and it was frustrating because there were certain elements that went kind of according to plan, field position-wise. But our inability to score and convert third downs ultimately hurt us."
The Broncos finished the game 2-of-12 on third down, and the team's running backs averaged 2.6 yards per carry. The initial turnover — which came with the Broncos trailing 10-0 — also loomed large.
"We've got to get things rolling," tight end Greg Dulcich said. "Got to make the plays that are in front of us and play better football."
Nix, though, said he still believes he took a step forward from his first start. In terms of downfield completions, that certainly rang true. After completing three passes of at least 10 yards against Seattle, he posted eight such passes against Pittsburgh — all of which came in the second half. Three of Nix's passes — including the 49-yarder — went for at least 25 yards.
"I think when you go back and watch the film, I think I took a good step," Nix said. "Sometimes good steps don't turn into wins though. So it's a long process. It's a tough league for a reason. We just have to continue as a crew, as a group, find ways to get better, and build and take steps. I have to do the same."
As the Broncos (0-2) move forward, they'll now need to find more success and reach the end zone with a higher level of frequency.
"We have to find a way," Sutton said. "… No one's going to come save us. It's only us."
