With a full day in the books from the Denver Broncos win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, I thought it would be a good idea to check in with the Mile High Report staff and see what was one thing they learned about the team from that game: good or bad. Among us, we came up with five things that we learned and what the Broncos could build on from there as they prepare to face the Indianapolis Colts next week.
Be Grateful Philly: Jalen Hurts Is Everything Caleb Williams Is Not, A Coach Killer
Posted September 9, 2025
The Chicago Bears thought they drafted a savior. What they got instead, according to 30 former coaches who spoke to Ty Dunne of Go Long, was dysfunction wrapped in Gucci. In House of Dysfunction, a three part series, Dunne writes that Caleb Williams, the Bears No. 1 overall pick, quickly became the poster boy for everything wrong in the NIL and transfer portal era – entitled, coddled, and unprepared for the NFL crucible.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, Jalen Hurts represents the exact opposite: accountability, leadership, discipline, and championship DNA. If you bleed green, now’s the time to recognize just how lucky you are.
The Poster Boy for NIL’s Dark Side
In Dunne’s reporting, one coach didn’t mince words:
“This coach dubs Williams the poster boy for everything wrong in today’s NIL world.” (Go Long)
Another added:
“Coaches know if they criticize one of their 5-stars or, God forbid, bench him they run the risk of that 5-star transferring. In the NFL, there is no escape hatch. No cakewalk games. Hardship is a guarantee.” (Go Long)
The Bears discovered quickly that their hand-picked franchise quarterback had never been forced to fight through adversity, until it was too late.
Work Ethic?
The indictments piled up behind closed doors. According to Go Long, Williams rarely turned on the team-issued tablets, something the Bears could track. He skipped optional but vital pass-protection meetings with centers. He blew off lifting sessions. He was given weekly blitz tapes spliced by O-line coach Chris Morgan and QB coach Kerry Joseph – seven hours of prep work and didn’t watch them.
Instead? Word leaked that Williams was spending his downtime on Call of Duty marathons.
One coach summed it up:
“There are grown-man responsibilities. You expect him to put the work in… If you can’t sacrifice? There’s no substitute for the work. That’s something he needs to learn.” (Go Long)
We Talkin’ About Practice?
Apparently Williams’ contribution to practices made Allen Iverson look like Tom Brady back in the PCOM days. Preparation failures bled into the field. Dunne reports that on the night before Chicago’s rematch with Detroit, Williams botched four of the first eight play calls in a simple hotel walkthrough – wrong formations, missed motions, busted shifts.
Fridays, which around the NFL are pristine dress rehearsals, were instead described as:
“the worst Friday practices in the history of the NFL every Friday.” (Go Long)
By Saturday, as the offense reviewed call sheets, coaches noticed Williams wasn’t even locked in – head down, distracted.
And on game days? Coaches said Williams struggled just to spit out plays. Dunne writes that offensive coordinator Shane Waldron would send plays in early, but Williams would stand in the huddle staring at his wristband for five or six extra seconds, making teammates think the OC was dragging. It created division and finger-pointing inside the locker room.
Backyard Football Gone Wrong
Even Williams’ highlight plays raised red flags.
“You’re making miraculous plays,” one coach told Dunne, “but it’s unnecessary because you skipped three reads and had to spin around in a circle twice and juke some cat who you’re better than and you made a miraculous throw. That’s phenomenal. But in this league more times than not you’re going to get body-slammed. You’re not going to juke that dude who plays defensive end. He’s bigger, faster, stronger than you and doesn’t care about you being Caleb Williams.” (Go Long)
Eventually, the Bears had to dumb down the offense with limited audibles, fewer motions, and basic formations because, as one coach told Dunne:
“Caleb didn’t want to do it. Or couldn’t do it.” (Go Long)
Entitlement, Image, and the Cover-up
Williams’ orbit told its own story. Go Long revealed that Chicago not only drafted Williams, but also gave his best friend John Jackson III, a walk-on wideout at USC with five career catches, a practice squad spot. How’d that happen? One coach sneered:
“That’s a good question for John Jackson The Third.” (Go Long)
All while Williams leaned into celebrity:
“Williams walks down fashion runways, attends Louis Vuitton shows and poses in a slew of different outfits for an Esquire photoshoot. He paints his nails. He was voted GQ’s most stylish athlete.” (Go Long)
Winning makes eccentricities charming. Losing turns them toxic. One Bears coach warned Dunne:
“Lose games, and… this fashionista side could become a point of contention and distraction.” (Go Long)
Coach Killer
Perhaps the sharpest indictment came late in the season, when interim coach Thomas Brown tried to hold Williams accountable. While the national narrative was that Williams was “overcoming” bad coaching, insiders told Dunne the opposite.
One offensive assistant said flatly:
“He’s always blaming everybody …this dude’s a coach killer man. I know how he treated other people, and that’s what makes me sick.” (Go Long)
5 things we learned from the Broncos in win over Titans
1. Broncos’ defense is as advertised.
I have been unloading defensive stats metrics today into The Feed section of the site. There is just a lot of data being posted to X that is fun to see related to the Broncos’ defense. We also dug into some of the defensive data today in a post aptly named the same as this first thing we learned:
Under the guidance of Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph, the Broncos’ defense shut down signal caller Cam Ward and the Titans offense. When the clock struck zero, it was total domination. They had allowed just 12 points and 133 total yards from scrimmage. Ward finished his NFL debut going 12-of-28 for 112 yards. He was sacked five times and lost a fumble. Overall, the Titans amassed just 62 net passing yards, averaged a dreadful 2 yards per play and completed only 14-percent of their third down attempts.
In the second half alone, the Titans gained a total -1 net yardage in a one-point game. There were some drops by Titans’ wide receivers, but a few of those throws from Cam Ward felt like they had zero touch and were just missiles launched out of paranoia. The Broncos pressure rate was quite literally off the charts in that game. - Tim Lynch
2. Offseason hype was way premature.
The overall team hype may have been premature. The defensive hype is somehow probably not quite enough for how good they are and can be (assuming they get Greenlaw back and stay healthy).
I didn’t see a playoff team on Sunday and hope they’ll get the offense sorted out over these next few weeks. I would put Denver below the Chargers and Kansas City so far in the division race, just based on eye test. - Jeff Essary
3. Interior OL was dominated by Titans.
Luke Wattenberg still is poor at run blocking. Jeffrey Simmons ate his lunch all game and T’Vondre Sweat destroyed him on the 4th down sneak. He has got to improve next week or defenses are going to start run blitzing him. - Joe Mahoney
4. Broncos’ offense is not as advertised.
It’s still really early in the season, and the Broncos survived a game that had numerous sloppy mistakes. The offense looked they were still in the preseason. We can’t learn much from a game like this, but we can see that neither team on the field was prepared for regular season football. Penalties and turnovers should have led to a Broncos loss, but the Titans did a lot of the same.
If they want to take care of business in Week 2 they will have to focus on holding onto the football, and limiting mistakes. Preseason is over. Hopefully, they will understand that in their second game. - Adam Malnati
5. How about Jeremy Crawshaw though?
Jeremy Crawshaw delivered a steady and efficient performance in the game against the Titans. The highlight came from his ability to control field position, pinning the Titans inside their own 20-yard line on four occasions.
We didn’t expect this performance after the preseason! Let’s see if he can improve! - Ivan Talavera
