NEW ORLEANS — No one feels sorry for a team riddled with injuries.
Not in the NFL they don’t. Think Sean Payton’s Broncos was going to sympathize with Payton’s old New Orleans Saints?
Not a chance. The Broncos thoroughly whipped the outmanned Saints, 33-10 in front of an energized-turned-disenchanted crowd Thursday night at the Caesars Superdome. The game wasn't that close -- it was 33-3 until the Saints scored a touchdown with 1:22 remaining.
"On any given week you have to prepare the same whether they have all their starters or not,'' said Broncos safety P.J. Locke, who made a terrific tackle for loss on Saints' running back Alvin Kamara. "We didn't take them lightly. They got some players over there who were wanting to step up when they got the opportunity. We didn't take any slack on them because they had some of their guys out."
The Broncos got their points on four field goals from former Saint Wil Lutz -- including a 52-yarder with 16 seconds left in the first half -- two touchdown runs by Javonte Williams, who had a big game, and a late fumble return for a touchdown by inside linebacker Cody Barton.
The Broncos will take a 4-3 record into their long weekend with a home game against the desultory Carolina Panthers up next. The Saints will fall to 2-5 after a 2-0 start.
The Saints entered this game with 10 players on injury lists and quarterback Derek Carr and top receiver Chris Olave watching from the sidelines in sweats. To which, the Broncos said: So?
"In this business we're in you just play. You have injuries, it's really the truth -- no one else outside the building cares,'' said Payton, who acknowledged multiple times how the Saints were nicked up in his postgame press conference. "At the end of the day they just want to see the result and I understand it."
With Payton, their longtime former head coach, back in town leading the Broncos, the Saints thought it would be a good time to honor former quarterback Drew Brees by inducting him into their team’s Hall of Fame. Made sense. Payton and Brees were in it together during the franchise’s glory era, winning a Super Bowl in the 2009 season, and posting 10 winning records from 2006-2021.
Plus, if you’re Saints’ management, the game can’t only be about the return of Payton, the coach who walked away after the 2021 season only to reappear with the Broncos in 2023. They held an afternoon team HOF luncheon banquet for Brees and wouldn’t you know it, Payton, with the preparation for that night’s game put to bed, made a surprise appearance on the dais. Payton got a show-stealing standing ovation.
Payton then outcoached his successor, Dennis Allen. Payton put together a good game plan for his rookie quarterback Bo Nix, who missed his share of open receivers, but scrambled well and was still 16 of 26 passing for 164 yards and had 10 rushes for 75 yards -- some off designed runs but many off scrambles. Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham came in to take three knees to run out the clock.
After the victory, Broncos owner Greg Penner gave Payton a game ball, recognizing that he became the eighth head coach in NFL history to beat all 32 teams. Two other former Broncos' head coaches -- Mike Shanahan and John Fox -- are on the list.
"It meant a lot,'' Payton said of the game ball. "It was two days of prep and we're here and so not a lot of sleep. It keeps your mind off it because there's so many things you have to get done. My big concern was not having enough rest so I slept today for a while and then came in over here to get started going though the game plan again.
"But it meant a lot because there were a lot of moments here. You get a chance to see old players that are here (with the Saints). And then to be with this (Broncos') team and this ownership group, it's the reason you miss it. You're one year out and you miss the relationships. Like I told them a couple weeks ago, (Pat) Surtain's interception right in front of our bench. There will be a day when I don't remember his name and I'm having applesauce out of a straw but I'll remember that play. So that part of it, being around young people and having a chance to be part of their journey and coach them is a pretty good job and I'm thankful for it."
His voice cracked at the end of his answer there.
"Yeah, it was kind of emotional,'' Payton said.
On the game's first series Nix scrambled twice for 22 yards. While his passing was off, his scrambles slowed down the Saints’ pass rush. Then Nix got hot, going 6 of 6 for the rest of the first quarter. But on fourth and 1 from the Saints’ 8, Payton had Lutz kick a short field goal for a 6-0 lead with 13:24 left in the second quarter.
At that point, the Broncos had 9 first downs to the Saints’ 2 and 118 yards in offense to the home team’s 58. So a 6-0 lead was relatively underwhelming.
The first touchdown run by Williams -- an 8-yard counter where he went untouched -- midway through the second quarter gave the Broncos a 13-0 lead. Williams had 88 yards rushing on 14 carries and three catches for 23 yards. Plus his team's only two offensive touchdowns.
At game's end, no doubt Who Dat Nation was thinking: The Broncos have Sean Payton; and we don't.
PHOTOS | Broncos at Saints
Bronco Bits
Saints’ cornerback Paulson Adebo was carted off the field in the second quarter with a vacuum cast on his right leg. He waved to the cheering crowd as he rode off. …
The Broncos had six sacks of Saints' rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler, including one by outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, who extended his sack streak to five consecutive games. ...
While Broncos' top receiver Courtland Sutton officially didn't have a target in the game, rookie Troy Franklin had a career-best five catches for 50 yards. …
The Broncos rushed for 225 yards on 6.4 yards per carry. ...
Barton had a huge game, coming up with a strip-sack on Saints’ rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler and also having a deep-drop coverage knockdown. He also had one fumble return for a touchdown called back on penalty, then got one in the fourth quarter when a strip-sack by cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian had the ball pop into his arms. Barton returned it 52 yards for a score with about 4 minutes left in the game.
"It was just one of the nights where it just comes (to you),'' Barton said. "Today was one of those days were some of those bigger splash plays, whatever you want to call them, came my way." ...
He also tied for the team-most tackles with Justin Strnad and Levi Wallace with 8. …
Once again, Lucas Krull was the Broncos’ “receiving” tight end with Greg Dulcich again a healthy scratch. Krull had three catches for 41 yards.
