Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton knows the offensive issues are concerning. Payton took accountability for his part in the issues on Wednesday, and also spoke about the situations where he believes quarterback Bo Nix can improve.
"Just relative to third down, finding throws where you guys look at receivers that are more open than maybe you’ve seen," Payton told reporters after Wednesday's practice. "Play design. Last week was a different defense. It was hard to see the down-the-field throws relative to how they played. This defense is a little different, and yet each week there’s a challenge behind that."
Nix and Co. have been downright dismal on third down, going 3-of-14 on third down in Week 6, and an abysmal 1-12 on third down against the Los
Angeles Chargers in Week 5. Denver was a decent third down team in 2025, so the steep dropoff from year to year has been staggering.
However, Payton did not just limit the improvement to Nix, but rather targeted the team as a whole, saying there is always ways to be better.
"I think there’s always, when the game’s over with, the debrief relative to, ‘This has to be better,'" Payton said. "That always exists, win or lose... there are certain games that unfold a certain way. Bill [Parcells] used to always talk about, ‘There’s a way to win each one of these; we just have to know how.’ So there were some important lessons in last Thursday night’s win, just relative to field position, a handful of things.”
Payton's comments on Wednesday echo nearly word for word what he told the team after beating the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6.
"There’s still obviously a lot of things that we can improve on, we have to," Payton said last Thursday.
The Broncos look to get back on track on both sides of the ball against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7, as they continue to prepare ahead of Sunday's matchup in the desert.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Sean Payton discusses areas where he wants Bo Nix to improve
