Sean Payton liked the way the Broncos finished, but he made it clear the opening act still has him uneasy.
After Denver’s comeback win over the Rams on Sunday night, the Broncos head coach praised the way his team dug in in the fourth quarter. At the same time, he said the slow starts are a real problem if they show up again.
“I’m comfortable with the grit of a team that can play well in the fourth quarter,” Payton said, via NFL.com. “I’m uncomfortable with how we play at the start of games, if that’s a fair answer. I’m comfortable with, this is a team that can - because our games, you’re going to be in tight games, but as the head coach, you can’t possibly be comfortable with the way the first half unfolds.”
Payton said the response mattered, but he also warned that the same pattern can come back to bite a team later in the year.
“I’m pleased with how we responded, but it’ll cost us in bigger games,” Payton added. “I just believe that against teams that are playing better later in the season and I’m talking about ourselves, whoever it is, it’ll be something we’ll be frustrated about later if we can’t clean it up.”
In Los Angeles, Chargers receiver Quentin Johnston opened up about another drop that hurt in the loss to the Bills.
“ Obviously some stuff at the end of the game I feel like I could have did better. I think we all seen that, but sometimes it’s just hard to take,” Johnston said, via Chargers Wire.
“ You work week in and week out so hard for a certain thing and it goes a different way. Obviously not the way that you wanted to, but it’s not always going to, so I just got to keep my head up is kind of what he was telling me.
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Meanwhile in Kansas City, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said he still doesn’t have a clear timeline for left tackle Josh Simmons, who has been out with a day-to-day back injury.
Reid told reporters at his press conference that he had no definitive answer on when Simmons will be back, and the injury has already kept him sidelined to start the season.
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