Sean Payton says ‘this felt more of what we’re expecting’ as Broncos rally for win

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was waiting for his team to wake up.

And they finally did late in the third quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon.

The Broncos are now 1-1 on the 2026 season, rallying for an impressive 20-13 victory over the Jaguars. Denver scored the last 17 points of the game after trailing 13-3 in the second half.

“Listen, it’s our league. When you have a tough game like that you gotta get through the week. It’s why a lot of these players are here from a makeup standpoint. They’re not here for the wins, they’re here for some of the bumps that we know are gonna come,” Sean Payton said.

That bump was a beatdown by the Chiefs in Week 1, followed by sloppy play allowing Jacksonville to take a 10-point lead in the third quarter. The offense looked out of sorts, but the defense flipped the game with a Riley Moss interception off Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence.

Both Nate Adkins and Jonah Coleman scored second half touchdowns and the Denver defense didn’t surrender another point.

“It was much better obviously defensively, better in the second half offensively and special teams. That was a good team we played and it was a good win,” Sean Payton said.

The Jaguars beat the Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High last season and it looked like they might do it again. But for a team desperate not to fall into an 0-2 hole, Denver remembered they’re good at football to get back to .500 early on the year.

“This felt more of what we’re expecting, certainly coming off of last week it was a good response,” Sean Payton said.

Now, with the Broncos and the fans feeling a lot better, a huge test against the Los Angeles Rams looms next week on Sunday night.

And who knows? It might be a Super Bowl preview with this campaign firmly back on track.

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