In Sean Payton, the Broncos finally have a coach to win big games

This has been the hardest thing to admit for eight years, and now it’s the easiest thing for Broncos Country to read. It is obvious. There is still no reason to deny it.

The Broncos finally have a coach who can win a big game. Thanks, Sean Payton.

It’s okay to say it out loud. Tell a friend. And it will feel even better when the Broncos beat the Colts on Sunday. Payton will face the moment.

That wasn’t true last season, when Payton’s insight into the game required WD-40. But it is undeniably true now.

No game this weekend has more at stake.

Win and the Broncos will run away and hide from the Colts, increasing their odds of making the playoffs to about 90 percent. Lose and they drop to about 40 percent, leaving them likely passed on in the final round by either the Colts or Dolphins.

The Broncos collapsed in a similar spot last Christmas Eve against the Patriots. The coach is the same. But he is different. Payton won’t let the Broncos lose. Not at home. Not with everything this team has done.

Choke against the Colts? No chance.

Payton has been revitalized by this group, by the youth, by the hunger and the emotional investment. The Broncos boast several captains. Quarterback Bo Nix is ​​among them. But it’s not up to the newbie to turn up the volume – or unleash profanity – because there is one voice that matters.

“Bo doesn’t need persuasion, that’s for sure. He doesn’t train when there’s no reason to. Why? I think Sean is such a great leader that we all buy into that message. The message is clear from the start from the top,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey explained. “Our job is to facilitate the coach’s message.”

Their execution articulates the job Payton has done better than the 8-5 record. While the Broncos are viewed with suspicion nationally because their resume includes one win against a team with a winning record, they beat inferior opponents. You know the list: Jets, NFC South and Cleveland Browns.

Payton wins games he’s supposed to win. That was the truth before last season. And it is the case again.

It sounds easy. But since Super Bowl 50, it has the equivalent of hiking Mount Evans in Crocs. Starting with an overtime loss to the Chiefs eight years ago, the Broncos have disintegrated before our eyes in a handful of must-win games.

Payton added his name to the list against the Patriots with alarmingly poor clock management. In year two, he’s the first coach to look like he knows what he’s doing since Gary Kubiak in 2016. That represents the franchise’s last winning streak. Sunday ends Payton’s streak of seven consecutive losing seasons.

Last year there was too much drama involving Payton and Russell Wilson. It boiled over on the sideline in Detroit and manifested itself in a benching after the Patriots loss. Wilson learned in the bye week that he was no longer wanted.

Sometimes excuses are reasons, and I think the disconnect between the two most important people on gameday created a bad atmosphere that played a role in the Patriots meltdown and overall failure to meet expectations.

This year, philosophically speaking, the coach and the quarterback are not distant strangers. The players feel as close as brothers. And Payton is in concert with Nix.

Today, Payton is a more complete version of himself, the coach who won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints. His decisions have worked, from going young at center and receiver to giving Vance Joseph the freedom to use an attacking defense. The pressure is on Sunday to pull the right levers, to resist gravity to pass too much. Humble suggestion: Give Audric Estime more food in obvious drains.

While Bill Belichick Was Disgusted With The NFL – Or Was It The Other Way Around? — the coaching-centric model still works. We see it in Kansas City with Andy Reid. We see it Pittsburgh with Mike Tomlin. And we see it in Denver with Payton.

Forget the offensive playbook, Payton wins behind the scenes with the structure he creates — the players know what to expect — and the tone he sets. The latter changes depending on the opponent, and the message was clear this week. The Broncos run into the storm with their eyes wide open. The players seemed focused, not nervous.

They believe and feed off Payton’s confidence, if not bravado.

This is not last year’s team. Or last year’s Payton. It was players and a manager who suffered from impostor syndrome. They weren’t ready for the limelight. Payton included.