Sean Payton laments “sloppy” Broncos as turnovers doom them
Dec 3, 2023, 2:45 PM | Updated: Dec 4, 2023, 12:23 pm
The Denver Broncos had three turnovers against the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon, and it ultimately doomed them.
The five-game winning streak is over, as Denver fell to Houston in the final moments thanks to a Russell Wilson interception. It was his third pick of the second half, as the Broncos couldn’t pull off a miracle in a devastating 22-17 loss.
The last one came on third-and-goal, with Wilson escaping pressure and then looking for little-used tight end Lucas Krull in the end zone. It wasn’t mean to be, and Denver is now 6-6 on the season.
After the game, head coach Sean Payton lamented the team’s “sloppy” play in a game they had chances to win but couldn’t pull out.
“I thought we were sloppy for most of the game,” Payton said. “Obviously, third-down we struggled. I don’t think we converted a third-down offensively. Converted a fourth, maybe.”
Payton’s right about that. The Broncos were a staggering 0-11 on third-down, but went 3-3 on fourth-down. Wilson and running back Javonte Williams each had a clutch one in the final drive, but Denver couldn’t get the last eight yards it needed.
For Payton, how they played today, not forcing a single turnover on defense, hasn’t been their formula during the winning streak.
“All the things we discussed coming in, we’ve been a team that has played well with the takeaways and the giveaways. That script flipped today. We had three of them, we didn’t get any,” Payton said. “We’ll look at this tape tomorrow. It starts with us coaches, it starts with me, we’ve got to do a better job.”
For Denver, it stings even more because the Texans are a team they’re competing for a precious wild card slot with in a crowded AFC. Houston is now 7-5 and holds the tiebreaker, so jumping them will be a task. The Indianapolis Colts also pulled off an OT win in Tennessee to move to 7-5. The Broncos remain ninth in the playoff standings.
It’s not over, but this definitely hurts. Denver, and particularly Wilson, need to clean things up next Sunday in Los Angeles against the Chargers.
