SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Denver Broncos are good. But not good enough.

Dre Greenlaw reminded them of this sobering fact Sunday. On his first tackle and with last words. He celebrated by pointing at Sean Payton, and providing his unsolicited opinion to the coach after the San Francisco 49ers’ 24-14 victory at Levi’s Stadium.

“I love everything about him. He plays with that emotion,” Payton insisted. “We are all good.”

You know that is not the truth, right? Of course you do.

Greenlaw played angry, exacting revenge for a lost season in Denver because of injuries and a team that did not customize his practice schedule like his current one.

The Broncos left annoyed because of a growing issue with their offense in general and the quarterback specifically.

One week after the latest, greatest comeback, the Broncos ran out of pixie dust. This was predictable because the way Denver is winning -- and Nix is playing -- is not sustainable.

The Broncos keep starting games like they are playing baseball. No clock. No rush. Like a batter who thinks he gets four strikes.

Momentum? Can't create it.

Explosiveness? They are waving sparklers as M-80s explode around their feet.

Urgency? About to find out.

There is no shame in a .500 record at the quarter mile given the schedule -- the Broncos' opponents are a combined 13-3 and Kansas City, Jacksonville and San Francisco all lead their divisions.

But it is becoming increasingly difficult to make sense of the Broncos' blueprint that alternates between infuriating and charming.

Sunday brought a new word that has lingered as an unmistakable vibe, even in the wins.

"I am sure frustrated," Payton said.

What Payton does next is going to tell us a lot about his patience. He's unlikely to remove Davis Webb as the play-caller, but how the personnel looks going forward will be revealing.

J.K. Dobbins hasn't looked like himself since hurting his hip/hamstring against Jacksonville, and he spent part of the first half pleading for more snaps as R.J. Harvey looked more dynamic. Is the second-year back the answer until Jonah Coleman returns from injured reserve?

And what about Courtland Sutton? He has nine catches for 86 yards on the season, breaking up more passes than snaring them the last few weeks.

Jaylen Waddle has flashed, but his next deep catch will be his first.

The Broncos revel in living with their toes dangling off the cliff. They play their best when the sirens blare. But don't be fooled by their 12-game win streak of one-score games in the regular season.

It exists only because they couldn't keep San Francisco close enough, and the 49ers untethered when tight end George Kittle raced 56 yards for a score with 2:15 remaining.

After the loss, Broncos Country was asking one question: When will cornerbacks Pat Surtain II (ankle) and Riley Moss (ribs) and receiver Pat Bryant (leg) return?

But the most important question is the one lurking, festering, the one we should fear.

When will Nix show improvement? When is he going to become more consistent? More dangerous?

"We have had four really good challenges so far. We definitely don't have to hit the panic button," said Nix, who completed 25 of 42 passes for 214 yards and one touchdown. "We have to grind and find ways to get better."

It is becoming obvious, with the way teams are defending Nix, that he will not take a step forward until the Broncos run more effectively. They are terrible in first halves on the ground, netting 32 yards on Sunday.

"It's a huge part of our job. And we are not doing it well enough. As a team we need to be able to run the ball better, and be able to rely on it," right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. "Games are tight, games are close. We move the ball, but we are not finishing."

The result is an obnoxious imbalance — nine carries to 24 pass attempts in the first 30 minutes. Thirteen carries to 18 passes in the second half.

Nix is 5-4 in his career when he reaches 40 attempts, a testament to adequate.

The problem is the Broncos need him to be special, the type of player who can elevate his teammates for 60 minutes, not just the last five.

For every sliver of progress in the near 100-degree heat, the results felt hollow because the Broncos couldn't land a haymaker.

The 49ers dared the Broncos by playing two-high safeties. When teams used to do this to Denver coach Mike Shanahan, Terrell Davis put on his hard hat, grabbed his lunch pail and went to work.

"Against that look," Nix said, "you want to run the football and we have to continue to find a way to do that."

The Broncos finished with 82 yards rushing, most of which came on a fourth-quarter scoring drive when the 49ers were happy to let Denver eat the clock.

There is no fear of Nix beating anyone deep.

"They are putting a lid on it," receiver Jaylen Waddle said of the coverage tactics.

So the Broncos plod. Their offensive attack is more horizontal than a bookshelf. Dink. Dunk. And hope someone texts NASA to help them do something creative in space.

It has left Davis Webb, a dynamic offensive mind, coloring in black and white. Few good plays exist when a team faces third-and-long as often as the Broncos.

But here's the thing. Nix has the ability to electrify. He doesn't have to be great. Or camouflage more blemishes than Revlon.

As the quarterback of the Broncos with a defense that takes everything personally, he needs only to make a few big plays to make up for a few deficiencies around him.

And yet, he seems reluctant to take off. He seems too willing to take the check down, rather than challenging a corner downfield (heck underthrow it purposely to draw interference like every other team does).

When CBS reported during the game that Nix has dealt with ankle swelling after flights, it seemed like a revelation, like something was finally connecting the dots. I asked Nix if anything about his recovery from multiple surgeries was inhibiting him.

"No," Nix said.

I saw Nix in the locker room afterward, and he said it's all good. I believe him. This is not a health issue. It's about performance and execution.

Nix has not played bad. He just has not played good.

It is not about pressure. Nix has handled the spotlight with aplomb since his rookie season. Nix is not getting enough help on first down. And there were again a handful of drops.

But understand something. Nix isn't having the same year he did in 2025, when only a broken ankle kept him from a Super Bowl berth.

Nix remains grounded as the team searches for answers on the ground.

There is no reason to sound the alarm. But what the first month has taught us is that if the Broncos' run game is awful, Nix isn't good enough.

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