Sean Payton liked Broncos’ chances vs. Chiefs in playoffs before blowout loss to Bills
The Broncos’ season came to a crashing end Sunday at Buffalo, as the Bills thumped Denver 31-7 in a Wild Card game.
But it was a successful season for Denver, which finished with a 10-7 record and made the postseason for the first time since 2015.
Despite being on the wrong side of a blowout, coach Sean Payton thought the game was closer than the score indicated.
“I’m telling you what I didn’t see a gap last weekend until the second half, and then you see a gap because you’re losing,” Payton told reporters Wednesday. “But I felt real confident we’d go in there and play well and win. We obviously didn’t play well enough, but those lines are much finer than we think.
“You know, I use that term, ‘There’s a fine line between a groove and a rut,’ and it’s a player, it’s two players, it’s the line of scrimmage, it’s the kicking game. So we’re not looking backwards, we’re looking ahead.”
Payton then talked about the AFC West and mentioned the Chiefs without saying their name.
Denver ended the regular season by thumping the Chiefs’ reserves 38-0. In their other meeting, the Chiefs blocked a late field-goal attempt and won 16-14 at Arrowhead Stadium.
Had the Broncos defeated the Bills, they would have advanced to face the Chiefs this weekend at Arrowhead Stadium. Payton thinks the Broncos had a good chance to beat the Chiefs.
“It starts with the division, you know, and there’s a lot of confidence in this team,” Payton said. “If we could get past that game (at Buffalo), the next game (against the Chiefs) we had to play, we felt real good about.
“And so obviously we’re still not there yet, and yet we’re a lot closer than we were at this time a year ago. That was misery, sorrow, drudgery, give me some other adjectives there. That was brutal. Let’s say that.”
Here is that clip of Payton.
Chiefs on mind of Broncos owner
Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner also spoke Wednesday with reporters and said he was pleased the team made the playoffs.
“The results of this last Sunday weren’t what we were hoping for or expecting, but I think the experience that the young team got will be critical for the future,” Penner said. “I will say that while we are incredibly pleased with the progress and number of accomplishments this year, we don’t at all feel like we are satisfied with where we are. We know that this offseason will be a critical one for us to build for the future.
“To Broncos Country, our fans are fantastic. They had a long stretch where we tried their patience and we feel like we’re starting to deliver for them. Main message to them is we have our sights set really high, and we are going to be doing everything we can to continue to build a great team and compete for championships.”
Penner mentioned the growth of quarterback Bo Nix and one of the high points was the close lose to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
A reporter noted the Chiefs’ streak of nine straight AFC West titles and asked if quarterback Patrick Mahomes was in the team’s “sights” as the Broncos continue their rebuild.
“Absolutely. I mean, yeah,” Penner said. “We could’ve very easily been 2-0 against the Chiefs this year and our absolute goal next year is to win our division.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2025 at 8:34 AM.
