Sean Payton is taking back the Broncos’ offense.
The move ends the Davis Webb experiment after just four games, with Webb set to lose the play-calling duties he picked up in the offseason. Denver will make the switch this weekend against the Chargers, putting Payton back in charge of the offense on game day.
Former NFL receiver Brandon Stokley was first to report the change, tweeting Wednesday night, “I’m hearing that Sean Payton is going to be taking over play calling this week,” and the team has since confirmed that Payton will indeed handle the calls again.
This decision has been building for weeks. Denver’s Week 1 showing against the Chiefs set the tone in the worst possible way. In that 31-10 loss, the Broncos as a team finished with fewer yards from scrimmage, 176, than Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III had in his debut with the team, 191.
The offense showed signs of life in the second half against the Jaguars in Week 2, and for a while that seemed to calm the waters. But the questions kept coming.
By the second half of the Week 3 game against the Rams, with Denver already trailing 16-0, attention turned to whether Payton might step back in. That never happened, and the Broncos again rallied without a change.
Then came Week 4. A 3-3 halftime tie against the 49ers turned into a double-digit loss, and that was enough to push the issue over the edge.
The timing also lines up with what’s ahead. Denver gets the Chargers this week, then turns around for a Week 6 Thursday night matchup with the Seahawks. Bringing Payton back now gives him a chance to settle back into the role before a major prime-time game, one with extra baggage attached after Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald’s not-really-on-the-record remarks to Graham Bensinger resurfaced a dustup from the Week 1 meeting between the teams in the 2024 season.
The Broncos’ bigger picture has changed, too. If they’re going to get back into the No. 1 seed race in the AFC, there isn’t much room left to stumble. Last year’s team finished 14-3, and through four games this season, Denver is already one loss away from matching that total.
That said, the 2025 Broncos were also 1-2 before ripping off 11 straight wins. What’s happened through four games in 2026 doesn’t point to another run like that unless this change gives the offense a different gear.
In the end, this is Payton’s call. And with the bar set high by what Denver did in 2025, the pressure to get this right is already obvious.
In Other News...
Rockies Cannot Waste Warren Schaeffers Progress With This Roster Again
Warren Schaeffers first full season running the Rockies did not come with a winning record, but it did come with something Colorado has lacked for far too long: clear signs of progress. After taking over for Bud Black in 2025 and having the interim tag removed, Schaeffer guided a team that still lost 104 games in 2026 but improved by 15 wins from the previous year, while young pieces started to give the lineup a little shape. Rookies TJ Rumfield and Cole Carrigg supplied encouraging production, and the anticipation around Charlie Condons eventual arrival only adds to the sense that the offense is finally pointing somewhere.
Paul DePodesta has already credited Schaeffer for the work hes done, and the front office seems to believe the manager has earned more runway. The problem, as DePodesta made clear, is that progress from the dugout can only carry a roster so far when the pitching still lags behind. For the Rockies, the encouraging signs around Schaeffer and the young bats are real, but they also sharpen the warning: if the roster isnt upgraded in a meaningful way, another season of growth could again be swallowed by the same old imbalance. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Just Gave Fans Another Reason To Question Their Loyalty
The Rockies are asking fans to keep buying in, even as the on-field product keeps giving them reasons to look elsewhere. After another rough year capped by a fourth straight losing season, the team announced plans to raise season ticket prices for 2027, a move that lands awkwardly for a club that has already spent years trying to rebuild trust with its base.
Team president Walker Monfort framed the increase around the economics of running the franchise, pointing to the clubs traditionally low ticket prices, rising minimum wage costs and lost TV revenue. Still, for a fan base that watched Colorado finish with the worst record in baseball and continue to struggle with engagement, the timing only adds another layer to the frustration surrounding a team already fighting an uphill battle for loyalty. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Face A Brutal Pitching Reality After Another Last-Place Year
Another last-place finish left the Rockies staring at the same problem that has dogged them for much of the recent rebuild: the pitching. Colorado went 58-104 in 2026, worst in baseball for a second straight season, and the rotation and bullpen never found enough stability to climb out of the league basement. The teams ERA sat at the bottom of the majors, a blunt reminder that even modest progress elsewhere can get buried when the mound work lags this far behind.
The offseason arrives with little certainty and plenty of turnover. The front office has already acknowledged the pitching mess and signaled that it will try to add arms for 2027, even though drawing pitchers to Colorado remains one of the sports toughest selling jobs. One thing makes the challenge even sharper: several familiar starters are headed back into free agency, leaving the Rockies with even more work to do before spring training begins. [Read more 🡒]