As the Denver Broncos enter their third season under Sean Payton, the head coach wants his team to embrace the fact that talks of a Super Bowl shouldn’t be a taboo topic. The franchise has struggled mightily since Peyton Manning’s retirement following their Super Bowl 50 victory in 2015. The Broncos endured an eight-year playoff drought, which was snapped last season after they made their first postseason appearance since that championship run nearly a decade ago.
With analysts suddenly projecting the Broncos to be potential contenders, Payton made it clear he won’t shy away from the championship conversations.
“It has to be a comfortable topic,” Payton said when asked about Super Bowl discussions. “But we’re in such a league, this is a journey. It starts more with the division and seeding, and we have to start faster than we have the last two years.”
Denver Broncos’ trajectory trending up
The Broncos’ trajectory under Payton has been building toward this moment. After a rocky 1-5 start in his first season and an 0-2 start last season, Denver ultimately secured a playoff berth as the seventh seed before falling to Buffalo in the Wild Card round. With a defense projected to be the best in the league, as well as building off a promising rookie campaign from quarterback Bo Nix, expectations have shifted dramatically for 2025.
“When the whole thing started two years ago, this is where we were kind of hoping to be going into year three. And it’s exciting,” said Payton.
Payton acknowledged that heightened expectations bring certain changes, but he views them in a positive light. For the 2025 season, the Broncos will have four primetime games on their schedule. They’ll face their AFC West foes, the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders, as well as the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Commanders.
“Well, it does a little and in a good way. It’s what you want,” Payton explained about adjusting to higher expectations. “You’re playing on a national stage more, and there might be unique travel more. But all that’s what we’re wanting.”
After nearly a decade of disappointment, the Broncos finally have a coach and team willing to have the championship conversations.
