Broncos’ Sean Payton finally produces signature win taking ball first

In the end, it was him, his secret.

Skewered for his outdated offense, ripped for not customizing plays for a rookie quarterback, criticized for game management decisions, Sean Payton decided if the Broncos won the coin toss they were taking the ball.

Bold strategy, Cotton.

The players had no idea. Captains Alex Singleton and Wil Lutz learned moments before walking to midfield.

When they announced in the press box that the Broncos would receive — the offense logged 14 three-and-outs in two straight losses — I figured Payton had lost it, his mind melting in the 90-degree heat and humidity.

“It tells you all you need to know about his mindset. I was like, ‘(Heck) yeah!’” tight end Adam Trautman said. “He didn’t care how much we had struggled. It was a huge deal for our confidence.”

After putting his stamp on everything in Denver since his arrival — something he compared to a dog urinating on trees — Payton finally delivered a signature win.

The pregame choice was his masterclass in a 26-7 thrashing of Tampa Bay.

“Every once in a while you want to send a message,” Payton explained.

This one arrived in the inbox with the subject line in all caps: I BELIEVE IN YOU.

Payton has attempted to goose the Broncos before but failed to deliver. He flubbed the 2023 opener with an opening onside kick, his team unable to feed off his ego. He had a chance against the Jets with the return of Nathaniel Hackett — Payton called his 15-game tenure in Denver one of the “worst coaching jobs in NFL history” — and wilted in the spotlight. And who can forget the embarrassing loss to the Patriots with a playoff hope hanging in the balance?

In Week 3 of Year 2, Payton produced the type of win that can flip a season and define his tenure in Denver. The juxtaposition cannot be overstated. In Week 3 last season, the Dolphins bludgeoned the Broncos 70-20, the worst loss of Payton’s career or frankly anyone’s career.

A year later, he pushed the right button. Payton views himself as part coach, part couch. He pulled off a Jedi mind trick, planting a seed that changed the psychology of his offense.

The Broncos only needed six plays to score a touchdown. Quarterback Bo Nix went 4 for 4 for 70 yards, connecting with Courtland Sutton and Josh Reynolds on deep strikes. Sutton caught a back-shoulder pass on the first play.

“When we took the ball, it caught me off guard. I was excited because we went over the openers the night before and I knew the ball was coming to me,” Sutton said. “It was so encouraging. My mindset flipped. I knew we were about to put something together.”

This is what we expected when the Walton-Penner Ownership Group hired a coach with a Super Bowl championship after Hackett’s clown car deployed its airbags.

Payton has a history of winning the chess match, even if his first 19 games in Denver made it hard to see. He has dominated rookie coaches, yet failed to outwit Seattle’s Mike Macdonald in the opener. And last week, Mike Tomlin dog-walked him, leaving Denver’s season hanging in the balance before the leaves changed colors.

The Broncos came into Sunday a 6.5-point underdog, and Payton did what he has done so many times before — humiliate the Buccaneers.  He improved to 21-11 overall against Tampa Bay and 11-5 at Raymond James Stadium. Finally, a bit of his Saints history that Broncos Country doesn’t mind hearing about.

The Bucs secondary admitted it was stunned by the Broncos’ opening march, leaving players questioning their technique and wondering what was coming next. Payton operated like he had the answers to Todd Bowles’ defense — the pair worked together years ago — while operating more smoothly as the voice inside Nix’s head.

Payton blended aggression with changes. No longer did the Broncos have more line changes than the Avs, cutting back on the personnel groups. And Nix often broke the huddle with more than 10 seconds on the play clock, giving him time to diagnose the defense.

This was closer to the offense we saw in the preseason, fitted to Nix rather than the other way around. He was in control, in command, and, for the most part, on time and on target.