With a 2-2 record so far this season, the sky is certainly not falling for the Denver Broncos. Unfortunately, the offense has still been bad enough through four games that head coach Sean Payton might need to make a decision soon on offensive coordinator Davis Webb, a decision that one wanted him to have to make.
Simply put, Sean Payton may have to consider taking back play-calling duties for the Broncos' offense, stripping Webb of the role he was promoted to during the 2026 offseason.
And at this point, it's less about whether or not Payton trusts Webb or believes in his play-calling potential, and more about the fact that the head coach has to take the burden of responsibility for the struggles of the offense so far.
Payton was asked about it after the game, and even his admission of it being a "fair question" is indicative of the fact that it's on his mind.
Denver Broncos HC Sean Payton may need to take offensive play-calling duties back
“Yeah, like I said, it’s too early. It's a fair question; I appreciate it. It's tough to discuss any of that right now. But I told those guys, ‘Hey, we’ve played some tough teams, and this is another good football team.’ There were a lot of things we did well defensively for a good portion of the game. I felt like the time of possession began to affect us. We had the big turnover in the kicking game, and that flips the field and all of a sudden you're back out there on defense. To your original question, we always look at everything in each game and that's how we'll approach this one.”
- Sean Payton via Broncos PR
With the Broncos having Super Bowl aspirations, Sean Payton is going to be forced to make extremely difficult decisions under these types of circumstances.
Taking back play-calling duties would feel like a major indictment on Davis Webb, and a contradiction to Payton's own belief that he can be a great offensive play-caller in the NFL. But the Broncos' offense has been horrendous so far this season, and pretty much in every possible way.
As many in Broncos Country have discussed, it isn't necessarily that the plays being called are bad, but the execution has been poor. There is a degree of truth to that, but if the offense is going to be the reason this team is constantly having to scrape and claw back into games, getting behind, and generally not looking like a legitimate operation, it will have to be the head coach answering for it, not the rookie play-caller.
If someone has to fall on the proverbial sword for the way the offense is playing, it has to be Sean Payton, and he knows that. The Broncos aren't in a rebuilding state as a team. They were one win away from reaching the Super Bowl last season. They have a lot of time and money invested in the players on this current roster, and a belief that they can get to the next level as a team.
If the offense is holding that back, Payton can't keep going to the podium after games and talking about his belief in Davis Webb as an offensive coordinator. At some point, either the results have to change, or Payton is going to have to make the tough call to say, "If the offense is going to struggle, the fingers need to be pointed at me and not Davis."
That is, once again, a brutal position to be in. Demoting Webb early in the season would be a huge blow to his reputation in the coaching world, and might be a path where there's really no going back. It would likely be the beginning of the end of Davis Webb's time in Denver, and that could cause palpable friction between Payton, Webb, and quarterback Bo Nix.
Even facing that reality, Payton -- as the head coach of the team -- simply can't ask Webb to carry the burden of responsibility when things aren't working. Not with this much at stake.
He might have to make the decision to take back the keys to the car and give them back to Webb when there is more margin for error.
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