Sean Payton wants everyone to pump the brakes on judging the Denver Broncos’ short-yardage play calls, despite the team gutting out a 30-26 comeback win against the Los Angeles Rams this past Sunday. The head coach pushed back hard today, cautioning against any conclusions after only three games of the young season.
Three Snaps? Sean Payton Says Slow Down
Payton is clearly feeling some heat, but he’s standing firm on how early it is to draw conclusions. When pressed about those perplexing short-yardage calls, his response was pretty specific. “I think you’re looking at three weeks, you’re probably looking at three snaps total,” Payton stated, talking about third-and-1 situations. He made it clear that “statistically speaking, we’re way early in the process.” He even added that “typically, we’re under center in short yardage with run,” acknowledging that sometimes they might “take a shot” when they need to run it. It sounds like he thinks the chatter is way overblown for such a tiny sample size.
But Fans Have Seen More Than Three, And The Offense Needs To Find Its Rhythm
While Payton is right to preach patience, the reality on the field has been a different story for offensive coordinator Davis Webb and his crew. The Broncos offense has been “completely defunct for large stretches of games” in all three matchups so far. Many fans, myself included, have definitely noticed more than just three head-scratching short-yardage calls. Forget exact third-and-1; we’re talking about those annoying empty sets or shotgun formations on third-and-2 or less. I can remember at least two times just last night where it felt like they should’ve brought in the “big heavies” to power forward, but instead, it was a shotgun, an incomplete pass, and a punt. The concern is real: this offense has to find some consistency, or these amazing, gutsy comeback wins could easily flip into blowout losses.
Comeback Kings & Quinn Meinerz’s Dominance
Despite the early offensive hiccups, this team showed serious resilience grabbing that primetime victory over the Rams. They basically “slept through the first half and went Thanos mode in the second” to pull off that win. And speaking of incredible performances, let’s talk about guard Quinn Meinerz. That dude was an absolute beast! He was so dominant against the Rams’ defensive line, including Aaron Donald, who just came out of retirement and made his return debut in Week 2, that Meinerz actually got drug-tested after the game. You don’t see that every day. That kind of grit is exactly what you want to see from your squad, especially when the offense is still finding its way.
The Broncos proved they have heart, but the big question remains: can the offense find that consistency? If they can, these comeback victories could become the norm. If not, the early season struggles might catch up to them.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Mile High Report.
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