The Denver Broncos are in just the second year of Sean Payton's tenure in Denver, and he has already accomplished something that none of the three most recent coaches before him had done: take the Broncos to the playoffs. Payton's squad wrapped up the 7th seed in the AFC with their dominating 38-0 victory over the Chiefs in week 18, and the team will spend the week preparing for Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills next weekend.
Payton's fired-up pregame speech to his squad seemed to serve its purpose, as the Broncos came out amped up and ready to go.
Sean Payton makes good on promise, leads Denver Broncos to playoffs
A once proud franchise, the Broncos have not appeared in a playoff game since they won Super Bowl 50 over the Panthers in February of 2016. Payton promised better days for the Broncos, and they have finally arrived for the Broncos. When Payton took over, the team was coming off a year in which Russell Wilson threw 11 interceptions to 16 touchdowns, fans were counting down the play clock for former head coach Nate Hackett, and Denver was the laughing stock of the AFC.
The times since have not all been great since Payton took over. The Broncos laid one of the worst eggs of all time in week 15 to the Patriots in 2023, and the team was at "win and you're in" for the final three weeks of the season, losing a pair of winnable games on the road. Despite that, Sean Payton has the Denver Broncos in the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade.
Payton is not only taking Denver back to the post-season but is also doing so with a rookie quarterback and a roster that was dubbed one of the worst in the NFL pre-season by the all-knowing talking heads. Rookie sensation Bo Nix has led the awful roster of the Denver Broncos, who ended the year with 29 passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns, and the rookie record for most passing touchdowns at home. Payton's work with Nix has been remarkable, and his entire staff deserves a ton of credit for the product on the field.
As the Broncos playoff drought ends, Sean Payton moves into rarified air in Denver. Expectations will be low for the Broncos heading into Buffalo, but I'm not sure that one fan will care. The Broncos are into the NFL playoffs for the first time since 2015, and Sean Payton took just two years to do it.