DENVER (KDVR) — They say music is the soundtrack of life. So as the Denver Broncos walked off the field victorious for the first time in 16 tries against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon, Taylor Swift’s hit song “Shake it Off” echoed through a cold, yet jubilant Empower Field at Mile High.
After struggles early in the season, can the Broncos shake off the slow start and crescendo toward a late-season push?
“We are beginning to develop our identity,” said head coach Sean Payton during his weekly Monday Zoom call.
The Broncos enter the bye week with three wins and five losses. Not where they want to be, but there is momentum.
“Are we a finished product right now, by no means not yet,” Payton explained. “But at the same time, we are trying to figure out our personal.”
It’s amazing how quickly the song changes in the NFL. One week you are singing the praises of college prospects like Caleb Williams. The next, you are squinting at the schedule trying to find nine wins. As Swift would say, “Look What You Made Me Do.”
“We’re not openly, or even remotely shopping anyone,” Payton said about the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday. “We’re looking at the next opponent.”
Payton will give the team the entire week off, but it’s back to work on Monday, Nov. 6. The second half of the schedule will kick off with the Broncos traveling to Buffalo to play the Bills on Monday Night Football. Then back-to-back home games against the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns.
“It’s never as rosy as we want to believe, and it’s never as bleak as we would like to believe,” said Payton.
Takeaways from the game
Payton approved the effort from the running game and the offensive line after rushing for 153 yards on Sunday.
“I’m pleased with how our front is playing,” said Payton.
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton is off to one of his best seasons. His touchdown on Sunday matched his career high.
After the Bronco’s embarrassing loss in Miami, giving up 70 points, the defense held Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs out of the end zone Sunday.
Payton said the key is “being better against the run and solid in the red zone.”
