The Broncos have spent the Sean Payton era showing they know how to answer a bad night with a better one.
That’s the backdrop after Monday’s rough trip to Kansas City, a game that left Denver looking for a reset. If history is any guide, the Broncos usually find it fast. When they’ve taken a serious hit over the past two seasons, they haven’t tended to linger in the aftermath.
Last December is a perfect example. Jacksonville was the only team to beat Denver by more than a field goal during the 2025 campaign, and the Jaguars did it by controlling the line of scrimmage in a 34-20 win. Four nights later, the Broncos went to Kansas City and earned their first victory at Arrowhead Stadium in 10 years, then rode that into a three-game winning streak that lasted until they had to play the AFC Championship Game without Bo Nix.
There was a similar rebound in November 2024, when the Broncos, then 5-3, went into Baltimore and got blasted by the Ravens 41-10.
Since coming out of seven straight losing seasons from 2016-23, Denver has taken its lumps. The difference is what has happened next.
“I think it’s first and foremost about the character of the guys in the locker room,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “I think Sean (Payton) talks about it all the time - about the people that are here.
Football I.Q. obviously is important, but it’s also how tough are you? How can you deal with what goes on in a football field on a play-to-play basis in the NFL?
“It’s a lot of ups and downs and roller coasters and you gotta be really mentally tough. This is the greatest league in the world because of how competitive it is and you’re some days you’re going to have a bad one and it’s about how you respond the next time or the next play you know next game - whatever it is and I think we have the character in here to do it.”
That theme echoed around the locker room all week.
“It’s just our DNA,” cornerback Riley Moss said. “Our DNA is is gritty and tough guys who can weather the storm.
“When bad things happen, are you going to be able to come back? And that’s how we’ve built our team and we’re all built for it and I know we’re gonna we’re gonna bounce back.”
The Broncos have dropped back-to-back games four times across the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but even those slides didn’t turn into spirals. None of the second losses in those pairs came by more than one score, and three ended on the final play: an overtime Cincinnati touchdown in 2024, a walk-off field goal by the Chargers in Los Angeles last year and the blocked Wil Lutz field-goal attempt in Kansas City two years ago.
Sunday could still bring another loss. But the Broncos have given plenty of evidence that one ugly night doesn’t usually turn into two.
In Other News...
Broncos First-Round Pick Is Already Raising An Uncomfortable Question
Jahdae Barron was supposed to be one of the Broncos future answers in the secondary, but two games into his second season, the former first-round pick still looks more like a piece in waiting than a player on the rise. He has logged only six defensive snaps so far in 2026, and with Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss and Ja'Quan McMillian already holding down the cornerback room, there has been little room for Barron to force his way into a clear starting job.
For Denver, that creates an uncomfortable but fair question about how the draft board was handled in the first place. Barrons talent was never really the issue, but the Broncos may have used premium capital on a position where their depth was already established, and it could be a while before the payoff is obvious. If he does not become a starter until his third NFL season, the discussion around that pick will only get louder. [Read more 🡒]
Sean Payton Knows The Broncos Have A Problem Even After Winning
The Broncos left Jacksonville with a 20-13 win and a little more confidence after erasing a second-half deficit, but Sean Payton is hardly pretending everything is settled. The victory fit a pattern Denver has already started to lean on this season, with the coach pointing to the value of winning close games while also making clear the team cannot keep inviting pressure by putting itself in early holes.
At 1-1, Denver has enough reason to feel good about its resilience and enough evidence to know the margin for error is thin. Paytons bigger concern is the same one that tends to haunt teams in September and beyond: the Broncos have shown they can survive tight finishes, but they still need cleaner starts before the schedule tightens again with the Los Angeles Rams next. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Face A Tougher Test Than Fans Expected Next Week
The Rams looked awfully complete in their win over the Giants, with Matthew Stafford throwing four touchdown passes and Aaron Donald back in the middle of the defense. For the Broncos, that raises the level of difficulty for a matchup that already had some edge to it. Denver now gets Los Angeles next, and the spotlight will be on whether the Broncos can get enough pressure on Stafford to keep the Rams from settling in the way they did Sunday.
For Denver, the concern goes beyond slowing down Stafford. Bo Nix is dealing with an ankle issue, so the Broncos also have to make sure their own quarterback is protected if they want any chance of keeping pace. With the Rams coming off a convincing performance and their front looking stronger with Donald available again, this feels like the kind of test that can expose a few things about where Denver really stands. [Read more 🡒]