Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton saw what we all saw in a frustrating 23-16 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
The Broncos offense got going way too late, in at one point, was a 23-0 game in the fourth quarter. The final numbers looked better when it was all said and done, but this was a blowout. Denver never really had a shot to win the game.
“We mustered up some offense late in the game, but all of it, it starts with me. We’ve got to be a lot better, obviously offensively,” Payton opened his postgame press conference.
And when asked what the difference was between the first three quarters of the game and the fourth quarter, where the Broncos scored all of their points, Payton was brutally honest. Essentially, the Chargers defense backed off.
“Well, look, let’s be honest, it picked up when we started going up tempo and when you’re behind then you’re getting a different coverage look,” Payton said.
At that point in the game, Los Angeles just wanted to leave town with a victory.
Yes, rookie QB Bo Nix got going after throwing for only 27 yards through the first three quarters. He went for 189 yards passing in the fourth quarter, including touchdown passes to Troy Franklin and Courtland Sutton.
Still, Payton knows that doesn’t excuse what happened for the overwhelming majority of the afternoon.
“I think towards the fourth quarter fortunately we were able to make some plays down the field. But I think the game was in a different position at that point. But look, we fought to get back in it,” Payton said.
Denver did it make it 23-16 on a Wil Lutz field goal with 59 seconds to go. Lutz got two shots at an onside kick thanks to offsetting penalties on the first try, but neither was successful. It never felt like the Broncos were going to pull off the miracle.
And the final question for Payton was about Denver trying to play with tempo the whole game. It worked in the fourth quarter, but again, it could’ve just been the Chargers playing softer coverage.
“Yeah, in fact we have. Alright, all good,” Sean Payton said to end his news conference.
Clearly, the coach thinks they can play faster throughout. But until the Broncos do, garbage time stats won’t make fans feel better after ugly losses.
