The margin of error is slim for the Denver Broncos with just two games remaining. In order to make the playoffs, Head Coach Sean Payton must look inward and rise to the occasion.
Over the course of the Denver Broncos’ 2024 season, I’ve offered some high praise for Head Coach Sean Payton.
All things considered; I believe Payton has done a very good job turning the Broncos around. He’s assembled a great staff, and the young players are developing and playing well. Achieving the franchise’s first winning season since 2016 is also an added bonus. Most importantly, it appears their future outlook appears to be quite bright.
Even so, there have certainly been multiple occasions where I felt his judgment, play-calling, or decision-making was quite errant or questionable. In order for the Broncos to punch their ticket to the postseason, he will have to be on his ‘A’ game and perhaps do some inward reflection and figure out where he is falling short.
While I’m thankful for the ascension of Bo Nix, tasking him throw 40 times against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football when the running game looked fantastic early on was curious to say the least. I’m not sure putting that much pressure on Nix is necessary.
“I felt we ran it real well early in the game [in the] first half. The second half there were two series I kind of kicked myself where even when we did run it, it was the type of run we ran that wasn’t as effective,” stated Payton.
I see the reason for why the #Broncos went away from the run game
Payton has “Run It” on the backside. Clearly he wasn’t looking there and couldn’t see his boy. Rookie mistake smh https://t.co/jiHEHAn0HT
— Ross (@Ross_MHR) December 20, 2024
Both Javonte Williams and Audric Estime had some great runs through the first two quarters. The ground game looked better than it had all season and averaging over five yards per carry. Alas, their impact was minimal in the second half. Numerous drives had first down calls being passes that often went nowhere or for minimal game.
I’m just kind of befuddled that a coach like Payton who has been around this long went away from what was working. The Chargers had no answer for a lot of the Broncos rushing attack in the first half, but Payton decided to abandon that for the most part in the final two quarters of play. In my humble opinion, keep going to what is working until they stop it.
Additionally, I was a bit perplexed by how Payton felt the Broncos’ last series at the end of the first half wasn’t a momentum changer. The Broncos could have gone into halftime up by 11 points. Instead, they only went up by 8 after Cameron Dicker was able to nail a free kick after at the end of the half—a gift given to them by what I’d chalk up to ill-advised aggressiveness.
When asked about that sequence of events, Payton demonstrated some hubris and doubled down on it being the right idea.
“I thought one of the dumber storylines was the end of the half in regard to us being aggressive with 41 seconds, two timeouts,” remarked Payton.
“We punt the ball, [and] the half is over with. I read more stuff that I just looked at and thought, ‘This is garbage.’ No. 1, it didn’t shift the momentum. We got the ball back to start the second half, went down the field [and] kicked a field goal. We were back up 11.”
A little math here, but the Broncos would have been up 14—two touchdowns—had they done the opposite. If you are going to be aggressive and try and get points at the end of the first half, chuck the ball down the field. Why call a screen play right out the gate when the Chargers had an extra defender near the line of scrimmage and were content on hitting the locker rooms with the game as is?
We can’t be too sure if things would have gone differently had Payton’s approach at the end of the first half changed. However, everyone knows how much three points can mean in any given game. Those who watched the Broncos lose to the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this season know that all too well. And if you watch football regularly, you see that play out every single weekend.
Payton’s proven a lot thus far and deserves kudos. But with two games remaining he has to show he has the ability to get out of his own way. The margin for error is slim for the Broncos. They can’t afford to see their playoff chances shuddered by obscure play-calling and porous situational management.
The clock is ticking on Denver’s 2024 campaign—will Payton and his players rise to the occasion? Only time will tell.