Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton knows the product his team put on the field against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday wasn’t good enough.
Not even close to good enough if the Broncos want to compete with the elite squads in the NFL.
Denver got blasted by Baltimore, a final score of 41-10 in a game that got ugly late in the first half and the entire second half.
And Payton is pointing the finger at everyone, including the offense, defense, special teams and himself.
“Obviously a difficult, tough game. They beat us pretty much in all three phases. We didn’t do a good enough job coaching. We lost to a good football team, and it’s disappointing,” Payton said.
The Broncos defense in particular got shredded like we haven’t seen all season. Potential MVP Lamar Jackson threw for 280 yards, three touchdowns and had a perfect passer rating at 158.3.
Derrick Henry rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns. What was a 17-10 game at one point quickly became a 31-10 contest as Baltimore scored at the end of the first half and start of the third quarter.
Payton knows Denver wasn’t as prepared as it needed to be.
“Look, you have to look inward, you have to start with yourself,” Payton said. “If you don’t, then everything I just finished telling those guys isn’t true. There are certain things you have to look at, and I think it’s important to do that to improve.”
Payton added the Broncos got “whupped” and said it’s important they learn from this one, especially with the Kansas City Chiefs looming next week.
“Look, we’ve had tough losses. It gets back to that grit and sometimes embracing the misery a little bit. You just can’t bulls*** yourself, including the head coach or any of us,” Payton said.
Denver still sits above .500 at 5-4, and the playoffs remain a possibility. But if the Ravens are the type of team that can win a Super Bowl, the Broncos have a long way to go.
And they learned that the hard way on Sunday, including Sean Payton himself.
