Sean Payton gives long answer on if he’s looking at AFC playoffs

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was asked about the playoffs on Wednesday.

And it’s a darn good thing.

Because after a miserable 1-5 start the Broncos are 5-5 — and right there in the AFC. They currently sit in the No. 10 seed in the conference, but have plenty of season left and are just one game back of the No. 6 Texans and No. 7 Steelers. Denver still has Houston left on their schedule.

“Is this the playoff picture (question)?,” Payton asked a reporter. “I get it. You try to use an analogy where we’re passed the halfway mark, but we haven’t hit turn three yet. It’s hard in this league.”

The reality is if the Broncos keep winning, they’ll make the dance for the first time since 2015, the year they won Super Bowl 50. But if they lose to the 7-3 Browns on Sunday, that task gets a lot harder. Without saying Denver is taking it one game at a time, Payton hinted at it. Even though the big picture is still in the back of his mind.

“You do get tunnel vision to the next challenge in front of you. Hopefully we all do, because I think it’s better relative to your preparation and focus. And obviously, as you get further into this, heading around (turn) three into four…,” Payton said before trailing off.

The coach went in a different direction, but likely meant that as the Jan. 7 finish line of the regular season gets closer, they’ll start paying more attention to playoff scenarios.

“I think really the focus is inward on what we have to do… It’s good that the questions are coming, it’s better than the alternative. And yet, there’s just so many things we’ve got to get better at. There’s still that race to improve,” Payton said.

It is indeed a race to the postseason. Currently, there are nine teams separated by just two games from the No. 6 seed to the No. 14 seed. There might only be two or three spots up for grabs, and a lot of squads jockeying for position.

But for now, Payton knows the task at hand. And that is beat Cleveland on Sunday and a clearer picture on the playoffs will continue to come into focus.

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