Sean Payton did not hold back calling out issues in Broncos win vs. Giants

The day after an epic win against the New York Giants, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was already doing the difficult task of looking at the multitude of ways his team can (and must) improve going forward.

Although the Broncos beat the Giants in Week 7 in one of the most epic comebacks you'll ever see, there were undeniable issues for the first three quarters of the game in every single phase. Somehow, the Broncos turned things on just in time to get a win, but the things they're struggling with as a team are not going to be acceptable moving forward.

Payton met with the media vis conference call on Monday, and did not hold back when pointing out the plethora of problems his team has to correct as they get ready for a matchup with the Dallas Cowboys this weekend.

Sean Payton calls out offense and defense after watching film of Broncos win vs. Giants

Let's start with Payton's issues offensively, which aren't going to lead to any change in who calls the plays (him). Payton noted that he and the offensive staff are comfortable with the way things are operating, so there's no sense in continuing down that road.

What Payton does point out here are a few different issues: Mental errors, wrong reads, mistakes, etc.

This is one of the few times where we have expressly seen Payton pointing out an issue of Bo Nix's publicly like this. Most of the time, we hear Payton talking about the fact that he and his staff need to do better to put Nix in positions to succeed, but here we see him specifically calling out "wrong reads".

Could that also apply to other positions? Maybe, but Payton also noted that the main "concern" was playing well in the early quarters of the game, "including him", referring to Bo Nix. There does appear to be a bit of a disconnect right now between Nix and Payton, and you can see that with their body language toward each other on the sideline when Nix is coming off the field.

Those two and the rest of the offense have to figure out a way to make things work before it's almost too late.

Defensively, Payton was unimpressed with his unit giving up multiple long gains in 3rd-and-long or 4th-and-long.

Although the defense has done its part to dominate for stretches of the season, they were unquestionably gashed and gave up way too many big plays in the Broncos' win against the Giants. In fact, the defense allowing the Giants a conversion of 4th-and-19 is arguably the most inexplicable gaffe of the game on either side of the ball.

The Broncos whiffed on multiple potential interceptions on the Giants' final offensive possession of the game, committed pass interference, had a roughing the passer penalty, and obviously got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from head coach Sean Payton.

There were multiple other major issues with coverage breakdowns or tackling breakdowns defensively. Tyrone Tracy wasn't even touched on his long touchdown run from 30-plus yards out. Cam Skattebo scored on a screen play in the tight red zone where the tackling was abysmal. The worst example included another 3rd-and-long conversion on a quick screen out to Wan'Dale Robinson, who made a great play as Broncos defenders looked clueless.

The defense has undoubtedly carried the water at times this season, but they have also had massive breakdowns in games against the Colts, Chargers, and now Giants. The issues we saw in long down and distance situations with the opportunity to get off the field simply cannot happen going forward.

Payton also has to acknowledge his fault in all of this. The Broncos have been one of the most oft-penalized teams in the NFL, and that's become part of the team's identity, unfortunately. They need to correct a lot of issues ahead of the game against Dallas in Week 8.