NFL.com Marvels at Sean Payton's Response After Taking 'Body Shots'
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The Denver Broncos are 11 games into the Sean Payton era, and to date, 2023 has been a tale of two seasons. While many predicted it could take a bit of time for Payton to establish a culture with players and staff that fit what he wants to do, no one saw the disaster coming that was Denver’s 1-5 start to the season.
The narrative that Payton might be in over his head with a historically bad defense and an over-the-hill quarterback with an albatross of a contract, things appeared to be getting worse for Denver rather than better.
Flash forward a month's time, and the Broncos now own the longest active win streak in the NFL with five wins, sit above .500 for the first time this season at 6-5, and are beating teams using a physical run-oriented offense, late-game heroism from Russell Wilson, and one of the most opportunistic defenses in the NFL.
The Broncos are still on the outside looking in if the playoffs were to start today, but Denver is very much in the midst of the Wildcard hunt with just six games to go this season. The Broncos are on the up-and-up, and the league is starting to take notice.
This is evidenced by NFL.com’s Jeffri Chadiha, who has Payton as the No. 1 trending-up entity in the NFL. With the miraculous turnaround in Denver, it's not surprising many are singing the praises of what Payton is doing in Denver over the last five games.
The Broncos head coach took a lot of body shots when his team was struggling. He deserves his fair share of credit for the way Denver has responded to those early-season issues. The same team that started 1-5 has won five straight games and firmly entrenched itself into the playoff conversation. A defense that was once historically bad has become one of the best in the league at generating turnovers. Quarterback Russell Wilson also is making plays again, with his confidence permeating throughout the offense. And then there’s this: The Broncos have beaten the Chiefs, Bills, Vikings and Browns during this stretch, all of whom could be playing in the postseason. This is what Denver hired Payton to do.
The Broncos still have a difficult journey in order to make the playoffs this season. At the very least, Denver will need to go 4-2 down the stretch and earn a 10-7 record on the season, but even that won’t be a guarantee.
The AFC is substantially more difficult this season than their NFC counterpart. The Broncos would be tied with the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks, both of whom also sit at 6-5.
In the AFC, though, the Broncos are currently on the outside looking in due to tiebreakers, and the four other teams with six wins this year in the AFC with the Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, and Buffalo Bills.
Can the Broncos continue their current winning streak? While still not likely, the self-belief in Denver is obvious. This team believes that if they play physical, tough, and smart complementary football, it can hang with anyone in the league.
That belief wouldn’t be in Denver without Payton as the head coach. Having “been there and done that” as one of the best in the league for many years in New Orleans, Payton knows what it takes to build a perennial contender and maximize the pieces at his disposal.
He's identified good coaches and stood firm when many called for firings. The Broncos staff and players have repaid their coach’s belief with much-improved play. The type of loyalty that garners is impossible to replicate.
Payton and the Broncos are trending up. There are no guarantees that the recent winning streak means that the Broncos are going to snap their eight-year playoff dry spell, as the 1-5 start and standing at 3-4 in conference games means they need to be nearly perfect down the stretch.
What is guaranteed?
The Broncos are going to be a tough out for any team over the final stretch of the season, and Denver appears to be moving in the right direction under Payton.
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