Sean Payton Sends Salty Message After Broncos Sweep Raiders: 'They Lost'

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was still a little salty after vanquishing the Las Vegas Raiders completely.

Nov 24, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton reacts during the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton tipped his cap to the Las Vegas Raiders after his team defeated them 29-19, but he couldn't help but rub a little salt in the wounds. There's a nice salt parable here vis-à-vis Sin City and the Broncos leaving town without looking back, but I digress.

"Credit Vegas. They came out and had some fire about them. But they lost," Payton said.

Indeed, as a two-win team, the Raiders don't have much left to play for except pride. And considering that up until Sunday, they'd never lost to the Broncos in Allegiant Stadium, and, of course, factoring in the two sides storied rivalry dating back decades in the AFC West, the Raiders came out playing with great intensity in the first half. This would be Las Vegas' Super Bowl, and, to quote Payton, they lost.

Turns out, that effort was the Raiders whistling past the graveyard, as Bo Nix and the Broncos stormed back in the second half to lay the smack down on their hated rival. It got a little chippy at times, specifically Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby doing his talking, trying to trip Nix (unsuccessfully), and getting a late hand on the quarterback as he tossed a Courtland Sutton touchdown that seemingly tweaked the rookie's lower back.

Once again, Payton had salt instead of flowers for Crosby and company, referencing also how rookie tight end phenom Brock Bowers was a non-factor.

"I thought we handled the run game," Payton said. "They give you some eye-candy motion stuff. We missed a few with coverage assignments. 89, 98, 19, those are really good players. We didn't hear from them a lot."

Crosby was a force in the run game, blowing up multiple plays. But for the first time since his very first game vs. the Broncos in 2019, Crosby was held without a sack.

Meanwhile, Bowers caught just four passes for 38 yards, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. The star pass-catcher was targeted 10 times.

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After falling behind early, it took some grit and will to come back and take control of this game. And with all the press about the Broncos' losing streak at Allegiant Stadium, that juju might have been enough to overwhelm a lesser team, like, say, the 2023 Broncos.

"A year ago we don't win that game," Payton said.

Payton continues to assert that there's something quite different about the 2024 Broncos. Perhaps it's the freedom from the Russell Wilson albatross, or this new era of young leadershp born out of necessity, but it likely has more to do with the head coach vibing with his quarterback.

"Listen, when you go someplace and people talk about in a while they haven't done... Even though a lot of these players weren't here, you exorcize these demons," Payton said. "Hadn't beaten the Raiders in how long? I don't know. It doesn't matter. We beat them twice this year. We're focused on the next game."

Have some salt with that revenge. How do you like your revenge? Served hot or cold? Either way, it'll taste better with a little sodium boost.

The Payton-Nix mind-meld is just starting to catch fire. If the Broncos don't have a field goal blocked in the closing seconds in Kansas City, we'd be talking about a team that has won five of its past six games. Still, to be 4-2 over the past six weeks and rolling with momentum entering the stretch run, the Broncos are poised to make some noise in the AFC playoff picture and secure the No. 7 seed.

"I'm just talking about this team," Payton said. "I'm not talking about last year. This team's entirely different."

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