Well, the Davis Webb play-calling era in Denver couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. The Broncos stumbled to an utterly disappointing 31-10 blowout loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bo Nix got sacked on the first play and threw an interception on the third. Unfortunately, that was a microcosm of how the game was going to go from there.
The Broncos couldn’t muster anything all night and finished the contest with only 176 total yards, which was 44 fewer yards than they had in their lowest offensive output from the 2025 campaign. They averaged an abysmal 3.7 yards per play. Bo Nix finished the contest with 131 yards, 1 passing touchdown, and one interception.
Unfortunately, some are already calling for the team to pull the plug on the Davis Webb play-calling experiment. NFL analyst Andrew Siciliano weighed in on that conversation on X.
“Sean Payton will probably be calling plays again by October”. Siciliano wrote on X.
NFL media personality Colin Cowherd also threw some gas on that flame, writing, “Sean Payton is going to tire of either Davis Webb or Bo Nix. Or both. Roster too good for this mess.”
Sean Payton Is One Of The League’s Premier Play-Callers
This isn’t a situation where the Broncos are stuck with a lame duck offensive season by stripping Webb of his play-calling duties. They have one of the league’s premier offensive masterminds (and potential future Hall of Famer) in Sean Payton as head coach.
Payton knows how to craft an offensive gameplan and, more importantly for the sake of this conversation, he knows full well how to call a game. The Broncos had the tenth-ranked offense last season (342.6 yards per game) with him calling the shots.
With Jaylen Waddle being added to the offense this season, many expected him to be the missing piece that could take the offense to the next level. Unfortunately, they seemed to level-down in the disappointing season opener.
He didn’t mince words in voicing his disappointment in the performance when speaking to reporters after the game, either.
“Whether you’re calling the plays or you’re not, when you have a game like that, and you’re the head coach, it’s frustrating. It’s disappointing,” Payton said. “I don’t know that the feeling is any different whether you’re calling them or not.”
According to DNVR Broncos’ Zac Stevens, he later added, “Lot of throws, not enough runs,” when giving his stance on the offensive performance. Not exactly a glowing review for the first-time play-caller. Not exactly surprising if you watched the game, though.
David Webb Had Outside Interest on Coaching Market in Offseason
Many had high hopes for Denver’s offense with Webb calling the shots. With Payton already in place as the head coach and play-caller, the overwhelming sentiment was they wouldn’t even consider moving him off that role if they didn’t have supreme confidence in what Webb could do.
The Ravens, Bills, Giants, and Raiders all showed interest in hiring Webb to be their head coach. He was widely considered to be a top candidate for the Raiders job before he withdrew himself for consideration for the job.
The Bills also showed a lot of interest in Webb before they eventually stayed in-house by hiring Joe Brady (who was previously their offensive coordinator). In the end, Webb decided to stick around when Payton was willing to give up play-calling duties.
Time will tell if the decision works out for both parties. It’s still far too early to tell how the book will go, but the first few pages certainly aren’t for the faint of heart.
NFL Analysts Already Calling For Davis Webb To Lose Play-Calling Duties