Dave Logan played the first eight years of his NFL career for Cleveland, so he’s familiar with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now the Broncos’ play-by-play announcer, Logan said this week that Denver’s thin offensive margin of error will be obvious with its rookie quarterback, Bo Nix.
Specifically, Logan doesn’t think Denver can beat the Steelers at home on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS) without improvement from the running back and wide receiver groups.
“Can they run the ball and average more than three-point little when it’s a running back and not a quarterback,” Logan asked this week on the Dave Logan Denver Broncos Podcast. “Because that has to happen. It has to happen. And I think it can.”
Even Mike Tomlin was surprised to see so much mobility from Nix in his NFL debut at Seattle. The 12th-overall selection in the draft, Nix led the Broncos with 35 rushing yards and averaged 7.0 yards per carry, including a touchdown. The rest of Denver’s backs – Jaleel McLaughlin, Javonte Williams and Audric Estime – combined for just 3.2 yards per carry (64 yards on 20 attempts).
Alex Singleton intercepted Geno Smith on the game’s second play from scrimmage, setting up Denver on Seattle’s 20-yard line. Logan thought Williams was going to score on the next snap, but he couldn’t step out of a tackle. Later in the game, Williams busted through for a first down but couldn’t keep his feet.
Denver also couldn’t corral several passes that Logan thought were catchable by NFL receiver standards.
“The margin of error is going to be really small this year,” Logan said. “When you have a chance to make plays as a receiver, you’ve got to make a play. Somebody’s got to make a catch, and it’s even more obvious with a rookie quarterback. They’re not playing with Patrick Mahomes.
“You’ve got to have somebody that’s going to break a tackle. You have to have somebody that’s going to take a 4-yard throw and turn it into an 18-yard gain because you made somebody miss.”