Sean Payton has extremely lame excuse for not getting Tyler Badie more carries

There is, no doubt, a lot of frustration boiling over into a variety of different areas of the Denver Broncos offensively after two dismal performances to start the 2024 season. The team is trying to break in a rookie quarterback and has no running game to speak of, receivers are running the wrong routes, and just about every skill player has dropped at least one pass in only two games played.

On top of all that, the Broncos can't seemingly build on the good things that actually are happening in the two games they've played, including getting more touches to someone like Tyler Badie. Badie, a running back who was called up off the practice squad for the team's matchup against the Steelers, was the third running back coming into the game against Pittsburgh. The Broncos got him out there for his first carry of the 2024 season and he exploded through the line of scrimmage for a 16-yard gain and what was the best run of the season from a Denver Broncos running back.

It's sad, in a way, that we're complaining about this, but why did Badie not receive a single carry after that point? Javonte Williams was in the midst of his 12th straight game averaging less than four yards per carry, and the combination of him and Jaleel McLaughlin has averaged 2.3 yards per carry this season.

So why didn't Tyler Badie get more run after his 16-yard burst? Broncos head coach Sean Payton had one of the lamest excuses for that question in his media availability early in the week.

Broncos HC Sean Payton can't adequately explain Tyler Badie's lack of carries

“Fair question. When we had the additional spot and obviously with [RB] Audric [Estime] down, then it’s about trying to find touches for the third [running] back. [It’s] much easier with a rotation of two. Getting the third back involved, sometimes it’s special teams, sometimes in the passing game, and it was a good run by him. It’s something we’re—you take notice of it though. It’s something as a play caller, as someone who’s looking at the game, I’ve got to be able to see that. He is a player though who had his name on a lot of different plays that either were red zone or situational plays that we weren’t able to get to. It’s not intentional. It’s not like, ‘Hey we’re not aware.’ You’re just into the flow of the game and you have to be better that way.”

- Sean Payton (via Broncos PR)

So, Payton says that it's about trying to "find touches" for the third back in the rotation, but in the flow of the game, is it not just as easy as substituting a player into the lineup to take reps from other guys? In other words, what Payton is saying is that he didn't see a reason to pull reps from Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin, despite the fact that Williams averaged 1.5 yards per carry against the Steelers and Jaleel McLaughlin had 3 carries for 6.0 yards.

It's just an unacceptable answer from the Broncos' head coach, who should have seen Badie's 16-yard carry and thought to himself -- maybe that guy can give us a spark. It's a concept called "riding the hot hand" and I'm sure Payton has heard of it.

Sure, it was just one carry. Sure, Badie could have easily been tackled for a loss just like Williams and McLaughlin were multiple times in the game. But we'll never know because he never had another carry after the 16-yard play.