‘Bo kind of bailed me out’ — Broncos head coach Sean Payton leaves nothing to the imagination with powerful postgame message
Head coach Sean Payton didn’t hold back with his postgame comments.
The Denver Broncos beat up on the Cincinnati Bengals on ‘Monday Night Football’ in a 28-3 victory. The Broncos had more than 500 yards of total offense and kept the Bengals out of the end zone all night, limiting them to 159 total yards.
Quarterback Bo Nix set a career high in attempts and passing yards in the win, adding three touchdowns (two in the air, one as a runner) in a breakout performance all around.
Immediately following the game, head coach Sean Payton opened up on the second-year quarterback and his performance, pointing to the touchdown before the end of the first half to receiver Courtland Sutton. Payton left nothing to the imagination with what Nix was able to accomplish.
“It’s an o-zone situation, that last touchdown, Bo kind of bailed me out,” Payton said. “We were in 01 personnel, so the play has to go to the end zone. We don’t really want the play clock to be running so it’s out of bounds or the end zone. It was a great call by him and a great throw and catch by Sutton. You start those drives thinking field goal, be smart, we start the second half with the ball. And then you midstream adjust, and quickly we were across midfield, and now your mindset adjusts. Certainly a big play at the end of the half, a huge play.”
Nix and the offense shine in victory over the Bengals
Nix found nine different receivers throughout the contest and finished his day going 29-for-42 with 326 yards. The head coach was asked about how the second-year signal-caller was able to distribute the ball effectively and how nice it was to see the offense shine.
“A lot of guys stepped up underneath. They played some soft zone. He did a really good job getting through his progressions,” Payton said. “He came underneath, four, five, six times, where coverage got deep, and right away he knew where his underneath flare control was, and then, more importantly, we did a good job of advancing. We converted a number of first downs, be it on second or third down, with an underneath throw, that was real impressive.”
The one-two punch of running backs J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey made life difficult for the Bengals, with Dobbins breaking 100 yards on the ground, the first Bronco running back to do so in 38 games.
Harvey was no slouch in the contest, finding the end zone and hauling in four catches along the way. It was the rookie’s first NFL touchdown, and he was able to do so in front of an excited Broncos Country at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium.
Payton was asked about the flow of the running backs and how he navigates that during the game.
“One thing we did different tonight, there were certain tags that put either one in,” Payton said. “But we gave them series, and I think that helped both of them. Certainly is easier to call plays. Both of them got into good rhythms; they were hard-fought yardage. Those guys both ran hard. I thought we blocked them well, and we pushed them well. We’ll look at the film. Good to have a 100-yard rusher; it was good to run. I don’t know how many attempts we had. That typically happens with a big lead. I’d love to have that many rushing attempts; that’s usually a byproduct of being ahead.”
Broncos have a tough task ahead of them
Payton discussed what he learned about the identity of the offense. After a rocky start to the season, Denver found its footing in the matchup. Something that the fan base hopes continues moving forward. Payton put everything into perspective while already setting his sights on the next matchup against the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I mean, look, obviously, early in the season, all 31 other teams are really working to figure out who they are; we’re no different,” Payton said. “That certainly was a step in the right direction. There were a lot of things that we were able to do tonight that hopefully can carry over. Now, we change quickly to a team that just finished winning the Super Bowl. So, we’ll enjoy this one and get back to work tomorrow.”
The Broncos rediscovered their rhythm with Nix at the controls, along with a balanced backfield and a stout defense. Monday’s win will mean even more if the team can carry it into next week’s showdown against the defending champion Eagles.
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An exciting win for the Denver Broncos.
