For all the buzz around Denver’s fast-rising staff, the spotlight is still squarely on the man in charge. Davis Webb may be drawing future head-coach hype after Tom Pelissero detailed his meteoric climb under Sean Payton, but the Broncos’ boss knows the real test for this operation is how it handles the stretch run. At 9-2 and chasing the AFC’s top seed, Payton is treating every detail like it could swing home-field advantage.
According to The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider, Payton said the staff’s self-scout during the bye hammered home just how dramatically the “penalty equation” has to change as Denver heads into the final part of the season, with eyes on that No. 1 seed.
Cleaning up flags was priority one in meetings on Monday, and improving the turnover margin was right behind it as another major emphasis for the locker room.
That message fits the broader arc of what Payton is building. Webb’s reputation as a meticulous, detail-obsessed passer-turned-coach meshes with a head coach who is now publicly demanding fewer self-inflicted wounds from an offense that has already proved it can move the ball.
Denver has the quarterback in Bo Nix, the weapons in Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin, and the scheme to score with anyone; the question Payton is now posing is whether they can stop beating themselves.
Special teams are part of that equation, too, which is why the organization recently moved to lock in kicker Wil Lutz on a three-year extension, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Lutz has converted 17 of 20 field-goal attempts, drilled a 57-yarder this season, and went 5-for-5 in the Week 11 win over the Chiefs, including the game-winning 35-yarder at the gun. When the Broncos stall short of the end zone, they know they have three points in their pocket.
Put together, the emerging young mind in Webb, the reliability of Lutz and Payton’s renewed obsession with penalties and turnovers paint a clear picture of what Denver thinks separates a nice season from a special one. If the Broncos match their talent with cleaner football after the bye, that “top seed” talk will only get louder.
