The Broncos opened the season Sunday with a 20-12 win over the Tennessee Titans at Empower Field at Mile High.

Here are the grades for the win:

Offense

Quarterback Bo Nix did not live up to the expectations put on him by head coach Sean Payton this offseason. Nix struggled all day and had three turnovers (2 interceptions, 1 fumble) in the win. The new-look running game of J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey didn’t provide much of a spark until the fourth quarter with a 50-yarder from Harvey and a 19-yard TD run from Dobbins. The numbers on the ground (151 yards on 30 carries) look better due to the fourth quarter.

Grade: C

Defense

Besides one big play in the first quarter, the defense lived up to hype by holding the Titans to four Joey Slye field goals. Nik Bonitto continued his big week with a sack and two tackles for a loss. The Broncos had five sacks as a team and were in quarterback Cam Ward’s face all game. They were good as advertised. Talanoa Hufanga led the team in tackles with 10 and had a fumble recovery in his debut.

Grade: A

Special teams

There was plenty of good on special teams but two ugly looks as well. After taking a 10-6 lead right before halftime, the Broncos allowed a 71-yard kickoff return to Chimere Dike that set up a field goal. Marvin Mims muffed a punt, but the Denver defense saved the day and forced the Titans out of field goal range. Rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw had a good day as did Wil Lutz with two field goals. Mims also was good with a 31-yard kickoff return and an 18-yard punt return.

Grade: C

Coaching

Payton was good with his challenges by winning two of three in the game, but his play-calling was a cause for concern in the first half. The Broncos had 40 pass attempts to 30 run attempts but most of the game, Nix was dropping back to pass. He did stick with the run more in the second half when the Broncos needed to run out the clock.

Grade: C