The Denver Broncos' 23-16 defeat against the Los Angeles Chargers was ugly at times, but there were a few bright spots. One of them was Broncos rookie wideout Troy Franklin catching his first-ever NFL touchdown pass.

And of course, Franklin's first career touchdown came from his college-turned-pro quarterback Bo Nix. After the game, Nix spoke about Franklin's meaningful result amid the disappointment of the tough division loss.

“It was huge. “I knew he would eventually,” Nix said of Franklin. “(I) expected it.” He expected it too. He ran a great route. We actually had an adaptation of this piece. He ran the right route, had a great view of the field, saw the opening and got behind there on the baseline.

It was a play the Broncos had been practicing with the Chargers in mind. In this iteration, when the chips were down, the quarterback and receiver worked together to inbound the ball.

“We practiced that play this week and it was there for me. He opened the ball and made the catch,” Nix continued of Franklin. “I thought it was perfect. (I'm) really excited about it. That was a great connection.”

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Adding to the Oregon connection, so to speak, was the fact that it was Alex Forsyth who snapped the ball to Nix, who then threw it to Franklin for a Broncos touchdown. This is how Nix’s thought process went. Kind of cool.

“I thought it was unique that we had an Oregon player grabbing it, an Oregon player throwing it and an Oregon player catching it,” Nix said. “I don’t know if that’s ever happened in the NFL. Probably as long as the NFL has existed. I think it’s pretty cool.”

There is a youth movement in Denver. It was great to see two freshmen being so involved in the passing game.

Devaughn Vele led the team with four receptions for 78 yards, while Franklin hauled in two for 31 yards, leading to that score. Broncos head coach Sean Payton plans to continue to emphasize youth in the offensive game plan.

“We need to see these guys. “We’re a young team,” Payton said after the game. “I want to see this runner too.” I want to see (RB Audric) Estime. We'll see Vele and Franklin. We're not waiting to redshirt these guys. We will continue to see each week how they participate in the plan and how they fit. This is how you gain confidence and gain experience.”

The Broncos will need a short memory and a quick refocus as it's a turnaround in a short amount of time. The Broncos travel to play the New Orleans Saints on Thursday evening at Payton's homecoming to the bayou.

It will be loud and emotions will run high. The Broncos will need their young offensive core to answer the bell.

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