Sean Payton: ‘Not by accident’ Broncos have won NFL record 16 straight one-score games

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was part of history on Sunday.

And so was his entire team.

The Broncos beat the Panthers 26-21, winning an NFL record 16th straight one-score game. It’s really remarkable when you wrap your mind around out.

The drama may be nerve-wracking to watch, but Denver seemingly always comes out on top.

Postgame, Payton was told about the astronomical odds of this happening. He immediately pointed out sometimes the Broncos make these closer than they should.

“Part of it pisses me off because there’s been a few of them that you would say shouldn’t have been one-score games. And then obviously there’s some that are,” Sean Payton said.

That was the case in Charlotte, with Denver up 26-14 and the Panthers facing a fourth-and-18. They converted, then scored a touchdown. But a memorable strip-sack by Nik Bonitto of Carolina QB Bryce Young sealed the victory.

Payton gave the Panthers their flowers, then focused on his own team as the Broncos are now 7-2 headed into the bye week.

“We just knew the type of team we were playing. They’ve been doing some really explosive things on offense, they were banged up certainly on defense as we were. But, we’ll take this break, but we still… it’s not that you’re never satisfied, but we still have to some work to do,” Payton said.

The head coach was then asked if Denver is more lucky or good and he delivered the key quote.

“Well, when it keeps happening, I think our league… it kind of is what it is. When those things keep falling your way that’s not by accident,” Sean Payton said.

He’s right. At some point, this is just who the Broncos are. They make things more stressful than they should, but find a way to prevail.

It’s a wild stat that Denver has now won 16 straight one-score games, but even when things look bleak, there’s always hope.

That’s a nice feeling for Sean Payton and the players headed into a week off.

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