Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton was not happy with the way the team came out in the 2026 opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday. The Broncos were trounced 31-10, with poor showings in all three phases of the game. Rather than laying blame at the feet of any of his players, Payton knows the blame for the defeat starts at the top.
"Obviously, not a good evening," Payton said in his post-game press conference. "We didn’t do a lot well at all in the game, so we will have to look at the tape tomorrow. I felt like all the key factors: they rushed the ball well, we didn’t. It starts with me. It starts with our coaching staff. I thought they won really in every phase.”
In the loss, the Broncos mustered one of their worst defensive efforts since
2023, and came out flat on offense, gaining only 176 yards. Considering Denver brought back nearly every member of their 2025 roster, the performance was a poor one for a team with Super Bowl dreams in 2026.
The Broncos have to flush this loss quickly, with a short week incoming. The Broncos face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, a team that beat them at home by double digits in 2025, their only home loss of the year last fall.
"Tomorrow, we can’t escape being able to put this game, to honestly watch it collectively as a team, as a coaching staff, and then it becomes a little more mental," Payton said.
The Broncos need to put on a bounce-back performance to establish what they believe to be true: They could be a championship contender, if they stay healthy and start fast.
They have a lot of work ahead of them.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Sean Payton takes blame for Broncos’ ugly loss: ‘It starts with me’
