Notion that Broncos season is over after 0-3 is ‘absolutely insane’

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — When Sean Payton answered a question Monday about what he’d learned about his first Broncos team that could be applied to fixing the problems that ailed them in the first three weeks, one of the areas to which he pointed was the team’s attention to detail in practice.

That very much keeps in line with the one-play-at-a-time, one-game-at-a-time mindset and mantra on which people within the NFL lean to navigate the choppy waters. Start with getting a practice right. Then figure the rest out from there.

“You have to work your way out of this,” Payton said. “It starts with getting the first win. I said this after the game last week—the next week can’t come quick enough. I think that’s where we’re at.”

But the focus on one day helps prevent players from focusing on the enormity of the task. After all, of the 247 teams in the Super Bowl era to start 0-3, just six recovered to make the postseason, according to data compiled via pro-football-reference.com. That success ratio of 2.43 percent is not one on which you want to rely.

But what good does it do to sulk about the odds?

The first practice back after the 70-20 thrashing in Miami came Wednesday afternoon. And for Mike McGlinchey and other Broncos, it was simply about staying the course — and keeping emotion out of it.

“I think you just keep at it,” he said. “I think it’s just reps. It’s just putting yourself in that moment — especially at practice, making sure that the reps that you have are deliberate and you’re trying to put yourself in the mindset of the moment that you’re going to be in, the emotion that you’re going to feel when it is a big moment in the game, and how do you lock in on the task at hand, because I think emotions make smart people dumb, and make good athletes bad athletes.

“I think by having that in check and being able to focus on the process and what the job is, rather than what’s going on around you, is the key to that. And that all happens in practice.”

Mike McGlinchey: “I understand that Sunday was not what we wanted it to be, but to come in here and hang your head three games into the season is crazy to me … To come in here and act like the sky is falling or the season’s over after three weeks is absolutely insane.” pic.twitter.com/JC9nmVhYnZ

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 27, 2023

Maintaining the focus on the day is why the demeanor around the Broncos seemed so upbeat Wednesday, despite the 50-point loss three days earlier. What good does it do anyone to sulk?

“I understand that Sunday was not what we wanted it to be,” McGlinchey said. “But to come in here and hang your head three games into the season is crazy to me. We’re trying to figure this thing out. Obviously, it’s Year One of our tenure with Coach Payton, and we’re all trying to figure this thing out and grow as this process goes on.

“But to come in here and act like the sky is falling and the season’s over after three weeks is absolutely insane.

“And we have a lot of work to do. We have a really good chance to improve this week and a chance to right this ship, and I think all you’ve gotta do — one [win] is a streak, and as soon as you get one, things start falling into place, guys start believing a little bit more, and the process just continues on.

“It’s only September, and we’ve got a long way to go in this thing, and I think it would be pretty pointless to play this game and operate under an emotional swing of, ‘Oh, this thing’s over now.’ It was a big bump, but it was a bump in the road. We’re all gonna grow, and we’re gonna be better, and the only thing you can do is come into work with a positive attitude and get better.”

And work on getting the first day back right — when the Broncos installed the base of their game plan for Chicago.

“I think we have a really detailed plan,” McGlinchey said. “I think there are some nuances that we’re going to do a little bit differently just based off of how Chicago plays defense.”

And after the last three weeks, anything different has to be good.

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