The Denver Broncos are entering their third season with Sean Payton as head coach, and this one could bring increased scrutiny around the Super Bowl champion skipper following his lofty claims about the current roster.
Payton has been anything but shy about expressing his belief that this year’s Broncos could challenge for a Super Bowl berth.
ESPN’s Jeff Legwold listed Payton as the Broncos figure who is “under the most pressure.”
“He has rock-solid job security, a deep-pocketed ownership group to support him and a proven personnel department to build a roster. But Payton has been the most vocal throughout training camp about his team’s Super Bowl worthiness,” Legwold wrote on August 18. “He believes the Broncos are good enough — if they do the work — to play for the Lombardi Trophy. It makes for good conversation now, but he could be at risk if the Broncos have any significant stumbles or injuries in 2025.”
Payton and the Broncos have already navigated some injuries, specifically at linebacker and, to a lesser extent, fullback.
Despite that, Payton has not wavered from his outlook for the Broncos.
Sean Payton Touts Broncos’ Super Bowl Chances
GettyDenver Broncos head Coach Sean Payton looks on before facing the San Francisco 49ers.
Payton, who led the New Orleans Saints to the Super Bowl, beating the Indianapolis Colts following the 2009 regular season, sees similarities between other title-worthy teams that he has coached and the 2025 Broncos.
He told Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson the Broncos are a “good football team” that he likes “a lot. Payton also said that he talked Super Bowl in the “first meeting.”
He said this is the “seventh team” that has the necessary traits.
“This is a team capable of winning the Super Bowl,” Payton told Robinson in comments published on August 3. “I’ve coached six teams that I thought could win the Super Bowl. Some went to championship games, some to the playoffs.”
Payton and the Broncos still have some significant issues to prove they have worked out to realize their lofty aspirations.
Run Game Looms as Broncos’ ‘Biggest Challenge’
GettyDenver Broncos head Coach Sean Payton looks on against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Broncos boast a quarterback Payton believes in in Bo Nix, a top-flight defense, and a bolstered passing attack with tight end Evan Engram joining wide receiver Courtland Sutton and a slew of promising youngsters.
One key question the Broncos still face is their running game, which CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin called their “biggest challenge” this season.
That is despite the Broncos having a strong offensive line and revamped running back room.
“Denver’s offensive line was great in pass protection last season, checking in first in Pro Football Focus’ pass-blocking grades and yielding pressure on only 28.3% of Bo Nix’s dropbacks,” Dubin wrote on August 13. “But the group up front was just okay in the run game, and the Broncos’ stable of backs did just about nothing with the holes that they did create. The team brought in two new backs in JK Dobbins and rookie RJ Harvey, and they’ll have to do a lot better than last year’s group in order to give Denver the more balanced offensive attack that Sean Payton typically likes to feature.”
Payton’s Broncos ranked 13th in rushing attempts, 16th in rushing yards, and 21st in rushing yards per carry during the regular season. They were 18th, 18th, and 21st in those same categories in 2023, so the new personnel (Dobbins and Harvey) need to make the difference.
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