Dec 19, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton on the sidelines in the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
After the Denver Broncos lost 34-27 to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football, a nasty, collective feeling of dread has loomed large in the Mile High City with Christmas approaching. The Broncos fell to 9-6, while the Chargers advanced to 9-6, swapping places in the AFC playoff picture.
The Broncos are again the No. 7 seed in the AFC, while the Chargers are No. 6. Fortunately, Sean Payton’s Broncos will have another opportunity to punch its first ticket to the playoffs since 2015 next Saturday with a road win over the 7-8 Cincinnati Bengals, who are also clawing for a postseason berth.
In the wake of the TNF camera crew capturing Payton's call sheet in L.A., with the words "RUN IT!!!" handwritten boldly in Sharpie for all the world to see, the veteran play-caller took aim at the television production, especially after the image became a viral NFL meme on social media throughout the weekend.
“I think, No. 1, I don’t like the fact that the network T.V. cameras feel like they can zoom in to our call sheets, but it is what it is. It’s just a reminder sometimes,†Payton said. “They’ll be little notes we’ll put at the top ofâ€"I’ll put at the top of a section."
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Payton’s offense currently holds the NFL's longest active streak (32 games) without an individual running back eclipsing 100 yards rushing in a game, which likely caused the self-help reminder atop the Broncos' offensive play sheet on Thursday night.
"I felt we ran it real well early in the game [in the] first half," Payton continued. "The second half, there were two series I kind of kicked myself where even when we did run it, it was the type of run we ran that wasn’t as effective."
Rookie running back Audric Estime led the Broncos with nine rushes for 48 yards and a touchdown in a fairly productive outing that yielded 5.3 yards per carry, with the majority of his production coming in the first half for Denver. The Broncos' run game evaporated in the second half.
"We had ample opportunities in that second half," Payton said. "I thought our third-down numbers obviously weren’t where we wanted them to be. We couldn’t get off the field defensively, and therefore, we weren’t able to keep the lead we had going into halftime or coming out to start the second half.â€
That being said, Payton liked what he saw from Estime vs. the Chargers.
“I think he played well,†Payton said of Estime. “I was encouraged with the physicality he ran with. I think he’ll only get better, so I was encouraged.â€
In many ways, rookie quarterback Bo Nix has been the face of the Broncos' rushing attack as the third leading rusher on the team. Aside from Nix, Payton will have ample opportunity to develop a healthy run game on Saturday against a Bengals defense that allows approximately 127 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground per game.