Broncos’ Sean Payton Expressed Why he Doesn’t Want a Wild Card Spot

Getty Denver Broncos HC Sean Payton looks on ahead of Denver's game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

After the first six games of the season, the Denver Broncos own a 1-5 record with the hopes of landing a top draft pick for a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft.

After the Broncos took down the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14, they own a 7-6 record and are now one game behind the Kansas City Chiefs and sit in a six-way tie for the final playoff spots.

On December 12, Broncos head coach Sean Payton expressed that his team isn’t worried about achieving just a wild card spot.

“We’re a game out in our division. And that’s how we’re looking at it.”

Denver hasn’t won the division since Peyton Manning was leading the way during the 2015 season and Gary Kubiak was still the head coach.

After the 1-5 start to the season, the Broncos won their next five games including wins over the Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. Denver even scored 29 points on the Cleveland Browns who own one of the best defenses in football.

Looking ahead, the Broncos have some winnable games in which they can control their own destiny.

Over the final four games of the season, three of the four teams that Denver will face have worse than a .500 record. The Broncos will take on the Detroit Lions in Week 15, but they’ve lost two out of their last three.

Broncos Defense has Played Lights Out

It was Week three when the Broncos’ defense gave up 70 points to the Miami Dolphins and fans wanted defensive coordinator Vance Joseph fired.

Since then, the Denver defense stepped up, made changes to their roster, and have found a way to become one of the better defenses in the NFL.

The Broncos held Patrick Mahomes and Chiefs to just 28 points in their two games combined and the Bills to just 22.

It’s been 10 games since the Broncos lost by 50 to Miami, but in those 10 games, they’ve allowed just an average of 18.7 points per game.

Not only have the Broncos been keeping opposing defenses to under 20 points per game since that Dolphins loss, but they’re forcing turnovers.

During the first three weeks of the season, Denver’s defense forced just one turnover, since then, they’ve forced 23.

Overall, the 24 turnovers that the Broncos have forced ranks a top of the NFL along with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Russell Wilson Looks Great

Last season, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson became a laughing stock of the NFL with his “Let’s Ride” slogan that paired up with his bad play. Many believed that Wilson was done and that Denver made the worst trade in NFL history.

Fast forward to today, Wilson looks like a whole different quarterback with Payton leading the way.

In 2022, Wilson threw for a career low 16 touchdowns and completed a career worst 60 percent of his passes. Wilson did throw for over 3,500 yards, but also threw 11 interceptions, which was the second-most in his career.

This season, Wilson has 23 touchdowns and just eight interceptions for 2,600 yards. The passing yards numbers likely won’t be flashy at the end of the year because Denver has focused on running the ball heavily to take a load off Wilson and the offensive line.

As long as Wilson doesn’t turn the ball over and continues to manage the Broncos offense the way he has, Denver will likely end their playoff drought and could be a dangerous team in the playoffs with their great defense.