With just more than 11 minutes left in the third quarter on Sunday, J.K. Dobbins took the ball up the middle for a touchdown. The Denver Broncos were fighting off the Indianapolis Colts and then led 28-20, but it felt like they always had the momentum.

As the game progressed, however, it was Indianapolis that made the big plays, while Denver struggled to generate much offense. The Colts had three more scoring drives, all resulting in field goals throughout the rest of the game, while the Broncos didn’t score another point.

It’s easy to make excuses for losing this game. If not for the missed field goal by Wil Lutz with 3:19 left in the game, the Colts would have needed a touchdown to win. If the Broncos weren’t penalized for a personal foul on Indianapolis’ game-winning field goal attempt, Denver would have won the game.

While late-game execution was an issue, the Broncos’ struggles stemmed from the battle in the trenches. Before the season started, Denver was viewed as a defensive powerhouse. After week one, that title seemed fitting.

The Colts’ 29-point day was much worse than the season-opening 12-point day rookie quarterback Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans had. The Broncos’ defensive line lived in the backfield in week one; the same couldn’t be said about the loss to the Colts in week two.

Denver sacked Indy quarterback Daniel Jones just once, and the Broncos had five quarterback hits. That was partially due to the work the Colts’ offensive line was doing. Denver’s pass rush was just a step slow all day despite getting 23 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. That, paired with Jones’ play on Sunday, made the Colts challenging to stop. Jones wasn’t afraid of the Broncos’ reputation.

The Colts didn’t shy from passing. In fact, they went after reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II quite a bit. On the nine throws to Surtain II’s man, the Colts found seven completions for 63 yards and five first downs, according to PFF.

The reason Indianapolis was able to disregard Denver’s talent was because of how effectively and quickly the Colts were operating their offense. The offensive line bought Jones enough time to see the field and hit his receivers on time.

Jones' 2.76-second time-to-throw average was 15th in the league through Sunday’s slate, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. He found most of his production in the short areas of the field, which opened the whole offense up.

Jones was throwing into tight windows within 10 yards all game long. He was the most aggressive quarterback in Sunday’s games, throwing into tight windows, as proven by his 29.4% aggressiveness, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

Despite the tight coverage, Indianapolis won the short game. Jones went 18/23 for 189 yards and a touchdown when throwing within 10 yards or behind the line of scrimmage, according to PFF.

The first-year Colts quarterback’s efficiency became so dangerous that Denver couldn’t just focus on former All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor. When Denver is containing passing offenses, it makes it easier for them to slow the run game, but this group isn’t particularly suited to stop the run.

The Broncos pride themselves on a high blitz percentage and their ability to get to the quarterback. The Colts proved too versatile of an offense for Denver, though.

The Colts’ interior offensive line paved a path for Taylor, and he’s too skilled of a back not to take advantage of those opportunities. Of his 165 rushing yards, 139 of them came from inside runs, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

The Broncos couldn’t commit to stopping just one facet of Indianapolis’ offense.

While the Colts’ offense outperformed the Broncos’ defense on Sunday, that doesn’t mean all is falling apart in Denver, though. The offense was much more competent than it was in week one, and the defense had an uncharacteristically bad day.

Taylor’s 215 all-purpose yards were bad, but 111 came from two plays alone, and Jones had the passing game efficient and prolific, but Denver wasn’t completely walked all over. Jones completed 67.6% of his passes Sunday, but his 14.5 completion percentage above expected, 53.1%, was the second-highest mark on Sunday, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

The Colts were the better team on Sunday, but there’s reason to believe Denver’s defense can get more stops throughout the rest of the season. The trenches and catchpoint just didn’t go the Broncos’ way this time.