There have been some massive wins during the Sean Payton era since 2023. Let's highlight the five biggest.
The Broncos have won 18 regular season games since Sean Payton took over as head coach for the 2023 season. Denver is 18-16 in the regular season and 0-1 in the playoffs, and while neither of these numbers jump off the page, it's a huge change in the right direction.
We can all see that the Broncos are on the right path, as the 2025 season could be quite special. Let's look at the five biggest wins of the Sean Payton era to date.
5 biggest wins of the Denver Broncos' Sean Payton era thus far
5. 2023 season - Week 8 - Broncos vs. Chiefs
This win in Week 8 of the 2023 NFL Season ended the Denver Broncos insanely long losing streak against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Broncos defense actually kept KC out of the endzone, and this game definitely seemed to turn the tide during 2023. Denver did end up winning five games in a row, but they weren't able to finish the job and ended the year at 8-9.
However, it was phenomenal to slay the dragon after so many years and beat the Chiefs for the first time in the Mahomes era.
4. 2024 season - Week 3 - Broncos @ Buccaneers
This game was the first win of the Bo Nix era, and it was a 19-point blowout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This set the stage for the rest of the season, as the offense showed a ton of development from the first two weeks, which were disappointing losses.
3. 2024 season - Week 13 - Broncos vs. Browns
The primetime game against the Cleveland Browns was on a game that many of us expected. The Broncos needed some splash plays to beat Jameis Winston and the Browns and continued to give themselves a huge boost in their playoff quest. This game notably featured a Nik Bonitto pick-six and a 93-yard bomb from Bo Nix to Marvin Mims Jr.
2. 2024 season - Week 15 - Broncos vs. Colts
The Week 15 game against the Indianapolis Colts had given a massive percentage boost to the Denver Broncos playoff hopes. The Colts were still breathing down the Broncos necks at this time, so a loss would have really complicated things, but Denver got to 9-5 with a win and made life a lot easier for their final three games.
1. 2024 season - Week 18 - Broncos vs. Chiefs
By far the biggest win of the Sean Payton era, the Denver Broncos needed to win this Week 18 game against the Kansas City Chiefs to clinch a playoff spot. Had they lost this game, the Cincinnati Bengals would have found their way into the postseason. And while KC was playing their backups, this was still a meaningful win for multiple reasons.
The emotional game ended a nearly 10-year playoff-drought streak and finally brought hope back to the Broncos franchise. A nice bonus about this game was also the Broncos being in their objectively amazing throwback uniforms.
Let's hope that the Broncos are in bigger games in 2025. However, for now, this one was absolutely the biggest and best.