Broncos offense is ‘so close’

The Denver Broncos offense has been an experience through the first three weeks.

An experience in patience.

Needless to say, it’s been tough to watch. We’ve all been sitting and waiting for Denver’s offense to do something, anything. Granted when the Broncos needed it, especially on Sunday night, Russell Wilson and the offense stepped up in the 11-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

But after three weeks, it’s time to play a complete game.

The good news is you get the sense it’s really close to clicking.

“We’re so close,” Wilson told the media after Sunday night’s win. “I’ve been a part of some good offenses and I think we have a chance to be really, really great. In (the) red zone, we could’ve been five for six over the first two games. Didn’t go our way. Sometimes, in baseball, you swing and miss — maybe a hard line drive and they catch it. That’s just part of the game.

“I think for us, though, our defense is really good on the other side. They battled. We knew it was going to be a tough matchup. I’m excited because I can feel it ... even the deep ball to Jerry (Jeudy), (he) almost (caught it). Everything is just that close. Once we do (that) with our defense (and) how they’re playing, it’s going to be unstoppable, I think. We have a chance (at greatness).”

What certainly helps build confidence is the kind of drive Wilson led on Sunday night to secure the win.

The Broncos (2-1) drove 80 yards in 12 plays that was quintessential “Russ.”

The first was the 3rd-and-10 completion to Kendall Hinton for 27 yards.

Next came the Wilson scramble on 3rd-and-6 for 12 yards.

Then came the audible on first down that led to a Wilson 19-yard completion to Courtland Sutton.

The drive was eventually capped by a Melvin Gordon one-yard touchdown run.

For an offense in need of confidence, this is hopefully the spark.

“I think that, as a coach, you always want to coach harder when you win because there’s still so many things that we need to correct,” Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett said. “Offensively, there’s probably some things, even on defense, even though it was a great game. There’s always going to be things that we can correct. We all want to grow as a team.

“We want to be better on special teams, offense, defense, and when you win you have that ability to coach even harder for us to build off of it. We had a good win last week. We had another one this week. However, we have to win, we’re going to do everything we can, and we just want to be sure we all stick together.”

Added Sutton: “I’m pretty sure you guys saw the raw emotion on the field. It continued all the way into the locker room. Guys are still in there enjoying it, as they should because it was a hard-fought win, and a team win at that. The defense doing what they did, and us being able to get the points on the board to get the win.

“We’re going to enjoy this for the night. You know what they say — 24-hour rule— enjoy this for the night and go in, watch some film, figure out the corrections, and get ready for next week. But for tonight, we’re going to enjoy this win because it was hard-fought and well earned.”

The good news for the Broncos is they’ve found ways to win. Given the division they play in, plus how tough the schedule gets to end the season, that’s what matters.

Now it’s time for Wilson and the Broncos offense to take the next step ... or five.

“The best thing you can do is stack wins,” Wilson said. The best thing we can do is stack wins. Once you get that one (win), it’s ‘OK, here we go. Let’s try to get the next one. Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes.’ It just takes what it takes. Winning’s fun. There’s nothing better than winning. We all just love it together and how we celebrate in the locker room — how together this team is. How much we believe in each other. How much goodness is still in store too across the board.

“We have so much opportunity and everybody’s learning. Everybody’s learning — we’re all learning each other. You have young guys that are learning. It’s a young football team. We’re all learning what the thought process (is) in this moment and that moment — how you want it to look in this or that (moment). It’s all coming together. In the fourth quarter, when it mattered most, it clicked. It clicked and we got it done.”