Sean Payton says Broncos ‘can’t be afraid of talking about’ Super Bowl

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was in a chatty mood on Wednesday.

His press conference after the first day of training camp 2025 was nearly 28 minutes long.

And Payton was asked about the team having higher national expectations, as well as players openly talking about wanting to win the Super Bowl.

In years past, that might have gotten Broncos teams laughed at. Not this time around, as Denver is projected to have perhaps the top defense in the NFL as well as a rising star at QB in Bo Nix.

Payton was asked specifically about the Super Bowl being a goal and for his thoughts on that.

“It has to be a comfortable topic. But we’re in such a league, this is a journey,” Payton said. “It starts more with the division and seeding and we have to start faster than we have the last two years.”

Essentially, Sean Payton is saying the Broncos need to try to win the AFC West and secure a better seed in the playoffs. They were No. 7 a season ago and got waxed by the Bills in the wild card round. They also started 1-5 in 2023 and 0-2 in 2024.

Payton elaborated more, but he’s not shying away from championship talk down the road.

“You try to point at the nearest goal and some of these ones that are more visible, but you can’t be afraid of talking about the end game. That’s got to be a comfortable subject,” Payton said.

The head coach was also asked by Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan’s Zach Bye if his approach to the team changes now that expectations are much higher, both around the country and locally.

Last season the Broncos had a win total of 5.5 and the roster was ranked one of the worst in the NFL. One year later they’re a “dark horse” Super Bowl contender. I asked Sean Payton if his approach to his team is different year over year & he gave a thoughtful answer pic.twitter.com/qxEg1cCvNI

— Zach Bye (@byesline) July 23, 2025

“Well, it does a little and in a good way. It’s what you want,”  Sean Payton said. “You’re playing on a national stage more and there might be unique travel more. But all that’s what we’re wanting.”

The Broncos will have five stand-alone games this year, meaning usually in primetime (and one in London), including massive showdowns with the Bengals, Commanders and Chiefs.

“We’re not a finished product by any means. There’s a lot of parallels to that building across the way here. We’re still a work in progress,” Payton cautioned.

He’s referring to the massive new training facility currently being constructed at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit. It’s looking good, but still has a ways to go until completion.

Payton mentioned the team had a belief a year ago they could compete for the division and make the playoffs, the latter of which ended up happening.

His vision when he took the Broncos job after the 2022 season is falling into place.

“When the whole thing started two years ago, this is where we were kind of hoping to be going into year three. And it’s exciting,” Payton said.

This much is clear, that Sean Payton isn’t afraid of the hype around the Broncos. There’s a process to it, no doubt about it, but it’s a challenge he’s embracing.

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