The Denver Broncos will be making a major change when they face the Los Angeles Chargers this Sunday. The Broncos, sitting at 2-2 and facing a winless divisional opponent, will go back to having head coach Sean Payton call the plays on offense.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed by Payton that he will take back the play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Davis Webb after just four games. The move was sure to be met with mixed reactions.
The Broncos have struggled offensively in the first month of the season, but stripping Webb of the play-calling duties seems to be a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. Still, there are sure to be fans eager to see this offense put more points on the board and feel that Payton gives the team the best chance to do
that.
Sean Payton made the wrong decision with play-calling duties
It has been widely discussed that the Broncos' slow starts this season have been a problem. It's possible that Payton feels he can get the team in a groove more quickly and that can lead to quicker starts and fewer comeback situations.
But in watching the games this season, the play-calling has not been the issue. It's been the execution. The running game has suffered and Bo Nix is just missing open receivers. He's not missing them because of bad throws; he's not even throwing the ball.
Webb was calling plays that would have been terrific calls had the execution been better. Former Broncos offensive lineman Mark Schlereth called Nix's most recent game against the San Francisco 49ers the "worst game of his career".
Payton has stated that he feels Webb is a future head coach in the league, but this isn't likely to help his confidence.
“As the head coach, no different than evaluating your right tackle, your slot receiver, your running backs, [you do] something to change it up,” Payton said after Thursday’s practice. “Ultimately, I used that word, the ‘collective’ yesterday. It’s the group. So when I met with the offense, it’s about buttoning up all of the little things that keep you from sustaining drives. Davis is all-in with the game plan, just like we’ve been operating.”
When asked why he made the change, Payton had this to say.
“There’d be too many things just to list. We know we have to improve our balance in running the football. There’s a handful of things. Then the hard thing when you are not the head coach is certainly there are things you want to feel like are cleared, where when you’re calling them as the head coach, you’re in your mind prepared to say, ‘I don’t have to run it by anyone.’ So it’s changing things up and really trying to reduce some of the calories to get back to getting some things really well. That’s going to be the focus.”
Sean Payton made the decision to take play calling on Monday.
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevens) October 8, 2026
Said Davis Webb has been fantastic in the meetings and meeting with him pic.twitter.com/p7IKXzc0R7
With the Broncos having to place wide receiver Pat Bryant on injured reserve on Friday, the offense takes a big hit. It's hard to imagine this move leading to major changes, at least positive ones.
Payton made Webb the offensive coordinator and handed him play-calling duties this offseason to keep him from being hired by another team. To make this decision after seeing such a small sample size has to seem like a bit of a betrayal to the young coach. Webb took it all in stride on Friday.
Davis Webb on losing play calling duties — disappointed … and what he learned. pic.twitter.com/Ga1I1fZmMM
— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) October 9, 2026
That's what he said publicly. It's all but certain that he said something much different behind closed doors.
This just seems like a desperate move by Payton. It feels like he sees this as a Super Bowl-or-bust season, and he needs to take back control of the ship because he can't fully trust where it will go without him.
The Broncos hope it translates into a more dynamic offense, which leads to more wins, even if it is a short-sighted decision. However, don't be surprised if Webb is ready to pack his bags for another team after this season, regardless of how successful the team ends up becoming.
This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Why Sean Payton made the wrong decision to take back play-calling duties
