Sean Payton unhappy after Packers demolish Broncos, sends message to starters

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was not a happy camper on Friday night.

And why would he be after the Packers came to town and rolled the Broncos in the team’s second preseason game?

“Obviously, that wasn’t good enough,” Payton said. “Just pick a topic, pick penalties, kickoff return, we lose that battle. Rushing numbers, we lose that. And we can’t just say ‘hey, this is preseason two.’ Each phase saw their share of what ended up being the final score.”

The final score was 33-13 in Green Bay’s favor. It was an ugly showing for the Broncos, outside of Bo Nix’s solid return after breaking his ankle and two offseason surgeries.

But Sean Payton barely answered any questions on Nix postgame, instead focusing on why this beatdown needs to be learned from.

“You can’t not pay attention to these games, these scrimmages, these important steps towards the start of the regular season,” Payton said.

Nix helped the Broncos take a 10-7 lead before backup QB Jarrett Stidham came in and couldn’t move the offense. He and No. 3 QB Sam Ehlinger combined for only three points for basically the final three quarters. Stidham also threw a bad interception.

And Denver’s starting defense wasn’t much better, giving up an opening drive touchdown as Green Bay’s No. 1 offense marched down the field. The Packers led 23-10 at half and never looked back.

“I can’t think of one area that we played or outplayed them, honestly,” Sean Payton said.

The head coach was asked how much the starters could play against the Vikings in the preseason finale next Friday and didn’t hold back.

“I want to play them all until the third quarter next week. So, let’s figure it out. The tape tomorrow, see where we’re at and let’s do what’s best for us as we prepare for the Chiefs,” Payton said.

The Chiefs and Broncos will do battle in the regular season opener on Sept. 14.

At the end of the day, the preseason is about for preparing for that AFC West showdown in Arrowhead.

But it felt like Sean Payton sent his starters a message. The effort against the Packers wasn’t good enough, and now it might mean playing more against Minnesota in the final dress rehearsal.

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