Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton delivered a pretty blunt message after Sunday night’s win: his team earned No. 1 seed after defeating a resting Los Angeles Chargers team 19-3, and he believes the biggest advantage isn’t the extra rest everyone talks about that comes with a bye week.
It’s the reality that you can eliminate a whole game from your path.
At the same time, Payton didn’t pretend the Broncos were perfect. He pointed directly at one area he wanted back: finishing drives with touchdowns in the red zone.
Key details (from Payton’s comments)
- The Broncos secured the No. 1 seed
- Payton said the No. 1 seed’s biggest value is “elimination of a game”
- He acknowledged concerns about red-zone touchdowns
- Denver recorded four sacks in the win and has 68 on the season
Payton said he understands why fans and analysts immediately bring up rest when the No. 1 seed is on the table, but he views it differently.
In Payton’s mind, the top seed is valuable because it takes one more high-variance, single-elimination moment off the schedule. It’s one less Sunday where a tipped pass, a bad matchup, or one weird quarter can end your season.
He also emphasized the emotional side of it. Coaches don’t get into coaching for comfortable wins in December. They do it for the pressure games; the ones where the stadium feels louder, the margins get thinner, and everything is at stake.
And Payton made it clear he felt that kind of tension in this one.
What It Means for the Broncos’ Playoff Path
The immediate impact is obvious: The Broncos earned the biggest reward available in the regular season. The bracket where the road goes through Denver, and it’s a shorter road.
Payton described the vibe as a tricky one for teams in this spot: you can feel like you have everything to lose and nothing to gain. His counter was simple; the Broncos had plenty to gain, especially with the idea of hosting the divisional round and the possibility of stacking home wins.
He also hinted at how the Broncos want to handle the upcoming week, describing it as an “earned bye” that won’t be treated like a typical in-season break. Payton said the team will reset, then turn quickly to opponent prep, even mentioning joint practices and studying multiple potential opponents (including the Los Angeles Chargers) because of how fast the playoff picture can shift.
Payton Admits the “1 Big Issue” Before the Next Game
Payton didn’t duck the offensive frustrations. He said he would have preferred more touchdowns in the red zone, and he went a step further, noting he didn’t feel he was as sharp as he wanted to be as a play-caller.
That part matters because the playoffs punish empty trips. You don’t get unlimited chances once you’re facing top-tier defenses every week, and you rarely survive by settling for “good enough.”
Still, Payton’s tone was more fix-it than panic. He praised what Denver did defensively, particularly against a mobile quarterback in an offense that’s hard to simulate in practice. He also credited the crowd for creating real disruption, including penalties caused by the noise.
Defense, Takeaways, and the “Why This Matters Now” Hook
Payton spent time on the formula pieces that translate in January: defense scoring, takeaways, and quarterback discomfort.
He cited a stat he believes in — teams that score on defense win at an extremely high rate — and he pointed to how intentional the Broncos were about attacking the football. He referenced a defensive touchdown as one of the biggest swings in the game and explained the emphasis on “punching the ball out.”
The bottom line: Payton’s message was clear. The Broncos are in a position to chase the one seed, but they’ll need to turn red-zone frustration into red-zone touchdowns before the next time the season becomes single elimination.
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