The Detroit Lions embarrassed the Denver Broncos on Saturday with a convincing 42-17 win at home.
After the game, Broncos coach Sean Payton credited the Lions for beating them in all phases of the game.
“Real quickly, we tip our hats to Detroit,” Payton said. “They kind of kicked our butts tonight. They outplayed us, they outcoached us. There wasn’t a lot positive for us in that game. Thought those guys did a real good job, the red area, third down, really in all phases. So, frustrating night. It’s tough to have one of these nights. Obviously, there’s a lot at stake [going forward].”
The Lions went six-of-six in the red zone and out-gained the Broncos 448 yards to 287 yards, including 185 yards on the ground. It was a thorough drubbing. Now Denver will look to move on quickly.
The Broncos will likely have to win all of their final three games in order to make the NFL playoffs. Up next on the schedule is a home game against the New England Patriots on Christmas Eve.
“Look, this is a tough league and like I said to the – I said this to the players afterwards, ‘You’re going to play in these games once in a while. It’s difficult to swallow,'” Payton said. “Certainly, as coaches, it starts with us. We’ve got to be better, but man, we’ve got to be able to shake it pretty soon here and then get ready to play New England.”
