DENVER — The 2023 Denver Broncos have unquestionably put together one of the more wildly eventful, weird and interesting .500 seasons, give or take, in NFL history.
*The new coach, Sean Payton, ignited a firestorm by saying the previous coach, Nathaniel Hackett, performed one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.
*The previous coach’s team, the Jets then beat the new coach’s team, the Broncos’ in large part because Jets’ players were motivated to win one for the Hackett and stick it to Payton.
*There was a 70-20 loss in Miami, the 50-point margin being the greatest defeat in Denver franchise history and one of the two worst in NFL history.
*There were two ejections and two suspensions for veteran starting safety Kareem Jackson.
*There was the release of such recognizable veterans as Brandon McManus, Randy Gregory, Frank Clark and Jackson.
*From the depths came a five-game winning streak that included an eight-year, skid-busting victory against the Chiefs, a re-do field goal because of a 12 men on the field penalty to stun the Bills, and was filled with a record number of defensive takeaways to bring the Broncos to the brink of playoff contention.
*There was a three-game road trip that began a December swoon and knocked the Broncos out of the playoffs for an eighth consecutive season.
*There was a 40-hour, 2,600-mile round trip ride in an RV so safety P.J. Locke could start at Detroit when doctors said his temporary health situation was not cleared to fly.
*And finally there was the benching of a star quarterback, Russell Wilson, who the Broncos basically traded away their present and future prospects just 21 months earlier. *The star quarterback and his agent publicly pointed the benching was related to an injury guarantee in the contract with Payton repeatedly stating this was, in so many words, for performance reasons.
There is one game remaining for the Broncos and Payton wants a win at Las Vegas so his team finishes better than .500. Let us pause and reflect with one final 9NEWS exclusive interview with Payton this week for the Broncos Huddle (6:30 p.m. Friday, 9NEWS).
Payton (smiles): “No, look, I think it’s always hard. We’re all driven by schedules and routine. There’s always postpartum when the season ends. Because you’re so used to being around these guys and then you change what you’re doing from a job description. So it’s important we finish on a good note. We have a chance to and obviously we’re playing an improved team (in the Las Vegas Raiders). Much like us, hungry, trying to turn a corner and I think Antonio (Pierce, the Raiders’ interim head coach) has done a good job with this group. They’re playing well. And you see it on tape.”
I’ve been around some teams who didn’t have the playoffs at stake, they couldn’t wait to get the last game over with. You have sent a different message all week. You’ve said this last game is so important to you. But, why?
Payton: “Each one of these wins is important. Getting to 9-8, it matters. It matters a lot. It matters carrying over into your offseason, carrying over to next season. I used Detroit as an example. They got to 8-8 (in 2022 after a 1-6 start) and they’re getting ready to play Green Bay on the road and there was a game earlier that eliminated them. They didn’t find out until they were in warmups but they went out and played well and won and you see it the following season. And if you ask Dan (Campbell) now did that last game against Green Bay matter I think he’d say, very much so.” (The Lions have won the NFC North Division with an 11-5 record.)
You had talked at various points about the three points to the Broncos’ leadership team. Just about a full season in, your impressions of working with Greg Penner and George Paton.
Payton: “Good. Shoot I see George daily, all the time. Greg, you know, smooth. Both are real good communicators and we meet quite a bit. We’ll have lunch and we’ll talk about where we’re at. But yeah all of it went smooth.”
This has been a wild season. I don’t remember one that had so many pronounced swings. Your first year here, what sticks out?
Payton: “You try to prepare your team for that because it’s a little bit like our league. Look Philly is going through a little bit now – that’s a good football team. There are some peaks and valleys so you have to be able to handle when you’re doing well and obviously you have to be able to handle when you hit some adversity. So not only physical toughness but that mental toughness is equally important.”
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