Broncos HC Sean Payton Quietly Admits to Week 1 Coaching Failures

What would the Denver Broncos' coaches do differently in a Week 1 re-do? Turns out, a lot.

Sep 8, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton stands on the sideline during the first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

If the Denver Broncos are going to make an impact this season, they've got to do more than hang around in games. While the Seattle Seahawks coaching staff made some key adjustments on the fly, the Broncos had seemingly run out of ideas by halftime.

The buck stops with Broncos head coach Sean Payton, especially when it comes to game-planning and play-calling. While he's pointed the finger at just about everyone but rookie quarterback Bo Nix, Payton has shouldered some of the blame for getting outcoached by Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks.

"We have to ask ourselves, 'As coaches, all right, if we played it again, what would we have done different?' And there are a handful of things that I felt like I didn't do a good enough job with relative to the inner triangle as to what we were seeing," Payton said via conference call on Monday.

Payton is undoubtedly dealing with a threadbare roster, seemingly lacking genuine game-breakers, which is only more conspicuous with a rookie quarterback under center. That's why Payton has to find a way to capitalize on opponents' early mistakes, and he can never afford to get outcoached.

Simply put, the Broncos appeared ponderous in the red zone as they tried to feel their way forward with Nix — until they jumped into hurry-up mode late in the game. Somewhat predictably, the fundamental inability to throttle the Seahawks when given the chance came back to haunt Denver, but that happens in the NFL.

Payton has boldly suggested that ironing out some minor wrinkles with his rookie QB will lead to much better execution in the Broncos' passing game as they progress. Still, he continued to emphasize that the failings in Week 1 were wide-ranging.

"Look, certainly like I saw a three-step and a hitch instead of a five and a hitch on a certain play; we'll get that cleaned up," Payton said. "But overall, when he's climbing a pocket or he's on the move extending a play, there's times where the ball is going to get away from you. But my bigger concern today, number one, the first half provided—that game early was there a little for the taking. We didn't take advantage of the field position to really go up and we didn't take advantage of the field position there. Our red-zone offense wasn't nearly as good as it needed to be and we did have some drops early on. But I think when I watch this tape offensively, we need to be better around him and we will be."

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That's fighting talk, but moving forward, we can fully expect that opposing defensive coordinators will play a lot of zones and drop different players into coverage to confuse Nix and delay his decision-making. Denver's rookie registered two interceptions, but it could have been more if the Seahawks defenders had better hands.

Furthermore, it's a fair bet that if Nix has to throw 42 times again in Week 2, serious trouble will lie ahead. Pittsburgh Steelers' generational pass rusher T.J. Watt will be licking his chops at the prospect of laying siege to a Broncos O-line that might be missing left tackle Garett Bolles this Sunday.

Strangely, it would also appear that the Broncos might be in the process of giving up on the agonizing development of Marvin Mims, Jr. as a bona fide receiver. That suddenly takes away the team's quickest deep-ball threat, as the Pro Bowl return specialist was on the field for only 12 offensive snaps against Seattle.

A team fails to get opposing defenses back on their heels at its peril at the elite level, but it also has to give its quarterback the kind of protection that allows the pass-catchers to get open further down the field. Payton has openly demanded a lot more from his group of receivers. But if his challenges go unanswered, it's hard to see where help will come to the Broncos' receiving corps.

Payton is working through a considerable to-do- list. It may only be Week 2, but the challenges are quickly mounting.

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