Sean Payton is a ‘realist’ who knows Broncos ‘could easily be 2-4’ after ugly OT win

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton guided his team to a 4-2 start through six tough games to start the season.

The Broncos escaped the Seattle Seahawks 17-14 in overtime on Thursday Night Football. Wil Lutz drilled a 53-yard field goal after a Ja’Quan McMillian interception to seal the victory.

But realistically, this would should’ve never gone to OT. Denver was up 14-3 at halftime before the offense went ice cold in the second, unable to move the football and constantly punting after using very little clock.

Payton was more brief than usual in his postgame remarks, but you could tell the offense’s dud of a final two quarters were on his mind.

“Obviously a lot of things to improve on, we have to,” Sean Payton said. “Certainly, we have to become more effective, more efficient offensively.”

Denver punted six times in the second half and took a kneel down with three seconds left in regulation to go to the extra session. That was it. They managed only two first-downs the entire second half.

“We are going to see a lot that we want to clean up,” Payton said.

And even though the Broncos are happy to have a winning record through a gauntlet of schedule, Payton knows their record could easily be flipped.

“I’m a little bit of a realist to know that 4-2 could easily be 2-4,” Sean Payton said.

Denver scored comeback wins against the Jaguars, Rams and Chargers and then hung on for dear life against the Seahawks. It wasn’t pretty, but a monster night for the defense including five sacks and two interceptions of Seattle QB Sam Darnold was the difference.

“Defense really was light outs. Obviously it’s easier to make these corrections when you get a win,” Payton said. “It was a good win, but there’s a lot of work to do.”

That work will begin after the Broncos enjoy a mini-bye before taking on the Cardinals the following Sunday.

You can tell Sean Payton is happy with the victory, but knows plenty of room for improvement lies ahead.

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