Broncos need to move on from loss quickly, as short week looms

The Denver Broncos couldn’t get much going on offense until garbage time, so they lost to the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 23-16. The game wasn’t as close as the final score indicated, although the Broncos did fight until the end.

The Broncos are now 3-3 with a short week coming up. On Thursday night, they travel to play the New Orleans Saints in Week 7.

After the game, Payton revealed they would move on quickly.

“Obviously it was a disappointing loss. We did all the things that you cannot do in a game like that. We knew what type of game it was going to be. We turned it over twice in the first half. That led to points. Then you start looking at the time of possession when you do that. They ran the ball better than we did. We mustered up some offense late in the game. All of this starts with me. We have to be better offensively. We have to protect the ball better. That is what I saw. We will go from there. We have a short week. Once we are finished tonight, we will be done talking about this game,” Payton said.

Here are three observations from the Broncos loss to the Chargers in Week 6.

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Garbage Time Matters

For the score to be 20-0 at halftime, the Broncos did make it somewhat of a game by the end. They did that because the Chargers were playing soft on defense. It wasn’t a true “prevent” defense played by the Chargers, but their soft zone meant the Broncos offense – mostly inept until the fourth quarter – could move the ball.

They also never gave up.

I think that’s a great sign in a bad game. Many teams would just give up on the day when down by that margin the offense like a turtle on its back. Many teams would call it a day because the gameplan wasn’t good. Others would call it a day after three quarters of bad play because they’ll play another game in four days.

The Broncos did not give up because of the culture Payton has in place.

Payton knew the team dug themselves a hole that would be difficult to comeback from.

“It was difficult. Bo (Nix) made a few plays with his feet and his arm trying to get back in it as quickly as we can. It is tough when you put yourself in that much of a hole. It was a three-score game. I have not looked at the third-down numbers, but they are going to be greatly tilted toward the Chargers. All those numbers will be. We have to be better. We will see them again at some point and we will go from there.” Payton said.

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Surtain Down

Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain is the best in the game at his position. There is no question he’s a cornerstone for the Broncos. When he was hurt on Justin Herbert’s first pass of the day it was evident how important Surtain was to the team for the rest of the game.

The Chargers don’t have superstar pass-catchers on offense, so Surtain’s duties wouldn’t be the same as when he’s facing a top-tier wide receiver. However, Surtain not being out there gave Herbert much cleaner looks. While Surtain takes away half the field, Herbert enjoyed making full field reads against the Broncos defense in the first half.

The Broncos missed Surtain’s ability to break up passes, get interceptions, and even score on defense. While the offense struggled, the defense couldn’t get off the field with the Chargers possessing the ball for over 21 minutes in the first half. That wouldn’t happen if Surtain was out there.

Payton knows losing a top player is tough to deal with.

“He is in (concussion) protocol. Anytime you lose one of your top players, it is kind of the next man up and here we go. Not having had a chance to look at film to tell you how the other guys played, I know we struggled just getting off the field defensively on third down. We did not do a number of things well today. That is kind of where it is at,” Payton said.

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Get Rid of the Taste

There is no lingering when it comes to this game. Nix said the team was excited for the short week, and they would practice on Sunday night if they could. While that’s not going to ever happen, what is going to happen is the team must have a short memory.

Don’t get too high with the highs, and don’t get too low with the lows. This was a low – a big one – but the team showed fight near the end. Perhaps they can carry some of that momentum as they get back on the road in Week 7. There is no doubt the team needs to get this bad taste out of their mouth quickly.

New Orleans is where Payton won a Super Bowl, and he still talks about his days with the Saints (perhaps even a bit too much). That’s his work experience, and he enjoyed great success with the Saints. Hopefully Payton is not up in his emotions as he heads back to a place he still calls home.

Payton has to turn things around quickly.

“I think that is a great question. I say that because I think that is what is most important for these players. Normally we talk about getting the taste out of your mouth, but it has to happen when they go to sleep tonight. Tomorrow the focus is all on New Orleans, and it will be with me. It has to be or else this can lead to that. I just finished telling them, and I would have told them the same thing had we won, we have to quickly put this one to bed. We cannot forget it, but we have to learn from it. It is a short week. We have to get on to the next game,” Payton said.

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