The Denver Broncos are now 1-5 under Sean Payton, tying the worst six-game start in franchise history.
After losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 19-8 on Thursday night, however, Payton actually seemed optimistic about the team’s outlook.
“I told our players I was disappointed. But honestly – I said this to them just five minutes ago – I’m not discouraged,” Payton said. “I thought they played hard. Defensively, particularly, we did a great job. Our red zone defense was outstanding.”
On a night when Denver’s defense finally showed up, the Broncos’ offense struggled. Still, Payton seemed to hint that he considered Thursday to be somewhat of a moral victory in Kansas City (without directly saying so).
“We played an imperfect game, but I thought we had great effort and energy tonight on a short week,” Payton said. “A tough loss, I thought we played hard. That’s not always good enough if you turn the ball over. But it gives you a chance to win and I was encouraged with how we were ready to play physically and mentally.”
Denver will get a rematch when they host the Chiefs in Week 8 on Oct. 29. Payton doesn’t want his players to feel down looking ahead to that game.
“I was encouraged, I thought they played hard,” Payton said. “We’ll see this team in two weeks. That’s kind of what I told them afterwards, I said, ‘You can be disappointed here, but don’t get discouraged.’”
