There is, obviously, a mean-spirited way to do this. Sean Payton taped a “kick me” sign to his own back during training camp when he ripped the 2022 Broncos apart and buried their coaching staff. Then, his team gave up a 70-burger this week.
He’s now 0–3 after a 70–20 demolition against the Dolphins, which looked a little more like Oregon-Colorado (or maybe Cumberland–Georgia Tech) than an NFL game. And while no one expected the Broncos to beat the Dolphins this weekend, Payton’s confidence during the preseason probably didn’t project a first-team-out-of-the-playoff-hunt kind of feel. Or an FBS early-season opponent feel. It certainly didn’t have a still-burning-panic-timeouts kind of feel, and yet, there was Russell Wilson twice before halftime staring at the defense like it was a calculus final. The Broncos barely got a doomed outlet pass out in time before the receiver was buried by Miami’s defense. Funny how that goes. Although, maybe to Payton’s advantage, we’ll forget about that because of how ridiculous the final score ended up being.
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