ENFIELD, U.K. — The coach matched the mouth.
It was the fourth quarter at Philadelphia, Bo Nix had just found Evan Engram for a touchdown, and the Broncos trailed 17-16 with 7:43 remaining. Sean Payton regained his taste for danger, ordering onions.
In the biggest moment, he called his best play, a flat route strike to Troy Franklin for a two-point conversion.
“I was surprised he did it,” veteran right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “And I loved it.”
In an instant, his offseason bravado and chest-thumping interviews with national reporters made sense.
This is why the Broncos owners shelled out $20 million per year to lure Payton to Denver.
He made a decision that changed the course of a season. With a single pass that triggered an upset of the defending champs, the Broncos were back.
Analytics said Payton should have eschewed the extra point after the first fourth-quarter touchdown. He held firm, trusted his instincts and learned from a past mistake.
Last season at Cincinnati, he screwed up. The bold coach looked like an old coach, sending Wil Lutz out for a PAT that sent the game into overtime against Joe Burrow, who was on an all-time heater.
The Broncos had multiple possessions to win, but the decision bit Payton when Tee Higgins finished his charcoal grilling of Riley Moss with a walk-off touchdown.
“The Cincinnati game might have been weighing on our mind a little bit,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said. “Sean made it clear during the (Eagles) week that we had more to gain than we had to lose.”
All chips in. Shooters shoot.
This is what $20 million per season looks like.
“He has trust in his players,” Nix said. ” And we got the job done.”
So, there we were talking with Payton on Wednesday about avoiding a trap game against the winless Jets, about maintaining momentum for what is clearly the Broncos’ best team since Peyton Manning led the franchise to a Super Bowl victory.
Payton was enjoying himself. As much as a football coach can when he is not golfing in Idaho. The team stretch began with “Oh When The Spurs Go Marching In” blaring on pitch No. 8.
He loves the grounds, which helped diffuse his anger over traffic to the Tottenham training centre. The bus ride from Lincoln Financial Field was more enjoyable. Several Eagles fans gave the Broncos the bird as they departed the stadium.
“It felt a little more special to me because it was my hometown,” McGlinchey said. “I got to rub it in the face of a lot of family and friends. Really appreciate the mindset from Coach.”
Payton arrived in London with a team that is legitimate. Yes, we can say that after last Sunday. These Broncos are inflated with confidence, every goal within reach with the Chiefs aging and the Chargers ailing.
“I understand the significance of last week’s win relative to the opponent,” Payton said. “The first objective is to win the division, the second is to improve your seeding and then last play for a championship. That hasn’t changed.”
Nobody brings it up because it wasn’t his mess, and it feels ridiculous, but it is impossible not to think about how much has changed since the Broncos were in London three years ago. That team missed curfew, wore mismatched trousers and tops on game day, and, after beating the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium, lost six of their next seven, getting coach Nathaniel Hackett fired 15 games into his first season.
That team had Russell Wilson’s high knees. This team has high expectations.
That team was on vacation. This team is staying at the intersection of desolate and nowhere. Without the Tube nearby, the players only have each other, recreating the college vibe from the week at The Greenbrier in West Virginia that placed a defibrillator on last season.
“I couldn’t tell you or point in the direction where the hotel is, and that’s fine. I’m still trying to figure out how to get around,” Payton said. “It’s the perfect setup.”
No distractions. No excuses.
This is what $20 million looks like.
When Denver arrives at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the crowd will be decked out in mostly orange, Broncos Country taking over in a way only short of the Bills Mafia.
The loudest cheers will be for this team. After last Sunday, they should be for him.
If Payton ultimately wins his first playoff game since 2020, it will be a crowning achievement eclipsed only by his first season with the Saints and a Super Bowl win over the Colts.
He has to make the Eagles’ win matter.
Payton has turned the Broncos around. Can he turn them into something special? Can he follow the Bill Parcells principle he recites to his staff, that there is a way to win every game? Will his ego, which gives this team its swagger, allow him to coach with freedom like he did against the Eagles?
That was the criticism of Payton in his final years in New Orleans. That he was strung too tight to win another Super Bowl. He runs hot on game day when his default setting is volcanic — a notion even Lombardi acknowledged on Thursday.
“What?” Payton’s longtime assistant responded with mock surprise.
Can Lombardi at least give Payton crap after working with him for 15 seasons?
“Yeah,” Lombardi said. “I mean, it depends on his mood. But yeah.”
The Broncos exchanged dysfunction for discipline. This team has a new face on old success.
Now, with an AFC West title realistic, it is time to go on a run. Time for Payton to finish.
How can you put a price on that?
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