Payton found something to clean up upon returning from bye

Amid the good feelings that come from a well-earned bye-week respite comes this reality: In the eyes of Sean Payton, not everything is perfect.

This is part of being a successful coach, of course — always striving for more. The Broncos sit one win away from their first winning season since 2016, but he swatted away the importance of such a milestone.

And then, before he answered the final query of his Monday morning question-and-answer session, he touched on an area bothering him: penalties.

“You do want to be playing for something and playing with confidence, but then also, hopefully you’re eliminating some of the some of the mistakes. Our penalty numbers are still problematic,” he said.

“I don’t like our penalties relative to the offensive line. We’re near the bottom of the league in that category. We’re near the bottom of the league relative to the secondary.

“Those have to get cleaned up or they’ll end up costing you.”

 

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As it turns out, Payton has a point.

Per data compiled by NFLPenalties.com, Broncos defensive backs have been whistled for 30 infractions this season — including penalties declined or wiped out as a part of offsetting infractions. That figure is tied for the sixth-most in the NFL. That tally is also 7.84 penalties above the league average of 22.16 through 14 weeks.

It’s a bit better for the offensive line, where Denver’s tally of 33 is tied with Atlanta for 10th-most in the NFL. The league average is 29.53 O-line infractions.

But so far this season, there isn’t a correlation between offensive-line and defensive-backfield infractions with a lack of success. The Broncos are one of six teams that rank in the NFL’s bottom 10 — including ties — in both of those categories.

Three of the other five are currently in playoff position: Kansas City (12-1), Buffalo (10-3) and Baltimore (8-5). Dallas (5-8) and Tennessee (3-10) are not.

So, it’s not a be-all end-all in regards to the W-L ledger.

But that doesn’t mean it won’t rankle Payton just a little bit.

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