ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — There's no one-size-fits-all approach to winning a football game.
One week, a team may need to light up the scoreboard and unleash its passing attack. The next, that same team may need to play the field-position game and grind out a close win.
The key, as Head Coach Sean Payton explained after the Broncos' win over the Saints, is to find the approach that works for each individual matchup and game.
"We are building," Payton said postgame when asked whether the team has found an ideal offensive identity. "We are figuring it out. I will say this respectfully to the question, we are working on how to win that game. You don't say, 'This is how we are going to play, regardless.' Based on who we were playing tonight, that's what we feel we had to do to win that game. It might change a week from now."
As Payton and the Broncos returned to work on Wednesday ahead of a Week 8 matchup with the Panthers, Payton echoed that sentiment.
"The focus is on our preparation, the focus is on our plan, and then obviously studying the film and understanding how to win this game," Payton said.
Through the first seven weeks of the season, the Broncos have won in a variety of different fashions.
From a margin perspective, they've earned three double-digit wins — matching their output from the entire 2023 season — and also grinded out a close win against the Jets.
"You've got to win the ugly games, and every game isn't going to be a blowout," defensive end John Franklin-Myers said Wednesday. "You understand that. Being able to win those ugly games that are 10-9, 12-9 or whatever, it shows the powerful teams. And when you get to the playoffs, you don't see people in the playoffs scoring 50 points a game. You see 20-point games, you see 10-point games — and those are the games you've got to win."
Denver has earned wire-to-wire wins against the Saints and Buccaneers, and they've battled back from a halftime deficit against the Jets and a double-digit first-quarter deficit vs. the Raiders.
Offensively, the Broncos have also shown an ability to prioritize different aspects of the system. Against Tampa Bay, the Broncos came out throwing, notching downfield completions that helped them take an early lead. Even on a time-guzzling third-quarter drive, Denver largely threw the ball to set up the run.
In their recent prime-time win over the Saints, though, the Broncos relied heavily on the ground game and attempted just three passes after halftime.
"It's been really good," quarterback Bo Nix said of finding different ways to win. "I think that's kind of the thing about our offense is you never really know when we go out there what we're going to do. It's hard to defend. Some games we'll throw the ball and do it well, and other games like Thursday, we'll run it and run it for over 200. That's how you win ball games. You don't really have to throw when you run for 250 yards. I thought that was good to see from our O-line and our backs, physical runs, getting downhill, and I thought that was really good for us to open up our offense."
On Sunday against the Panthers, the Broncos will look to execute a plan that gives them the best chance in this week's game — and this week's game alone.
WINS MATTER MOST TO SUTTON
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton did not have an official target in Thursday's win over the Saints, but he said Wednesday he was more concerned with getting the victory.
"We won," Sutton said. "That's all that matters at the end of the day. Big win. The running backs had a really big game, O-line blocked their butts off. It was all hands on deck. We all had our hands in the run game. It was fun to watch them cut it loose. … When you can run the ball that efficiently and effectively, it's hard to be selfish in that situation."
Sutton, who did draw a defensive holding call, said if teams want to "dare us to run the ball" and remain in a two-high safety coverage, the Broncos will gladly prove they can run the ball.
"I've been talking to y'all for years at this point and y'all know, man, if I go out there and have a freaking 10-catch, 200-yard game and we lose, who really cares at the end of the day?" Sutton said. "Selfishly it's a cool stat … but ultimately at the end of the day, we're trying to get to the playoffs and have a chance to play for the Super Bowl. The stats are cool, and I know they'll come. I'm not too stressed about it. I know we've got a long season ahead of us. I just feel like it'll get better over time. It's nothing to stress about. Winning games, at the end of the day, that's ultimately what we want to do."
Payton said the Broncos did have a "handful of calls" where Sutton was the primary option, but either the coverage or rush prevented Sutton from getting the ball.
"The best thing about 'Sut' is after the game, he didn't flinch," Payton said. "We have to keep finding ways [to get him the ball], because he's certainly a great weapon for us."
ESTIME PRIORITIZING BALL SECURITY
Rookie running back Audric Estime will have ball security on his mind ahead of Week 8.
After losing his second fumble of the season against the Saints, Estime has been tasked with carrying a football around Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit to emphasized the importance of protecting the football.
"I've just got to take care of the ball," Estime said. "That's what comes first. The ball comes first. If you can't hold the ball, you can't be a functional offense. I've just got to be more cautious and, no matter what, ball security trumps extra yards."
Estime said the assignment reminds him of a couple movies — "Remember the Titans" might be among the most notable — and he said he would use the week as "an opportunity to get better."
Estime said besides a post-practice shower and when he's eating, he'll aim to keep the ball in his grasp. Veteran running back Javonte Williams — who delivered the football to Estime but said he's "just a messenger" — knows that there's a serious message behind the gesture.
"It looks funny and people think it's all games, but it's serious business," Williams said. "That's your job, your livelihood. … He's starting to look at it a little bit more serious now."
Payton said the Broncos have seen Estime's "ability and the skill set," but he also acknowledged the need to adjust to the ball-hawking tendencies of NFL defenders.
"I think it happens to young backs a lot because at this level, the ability for players and the point of emphasis of taking the ball away, it steps up a lot," Payton said. "… We try to — as best we can with these young players — give them up-the-river medicine. In other words, before there's a problem. But now he's someone, where if we're scouting him, [he] is someone who's fumbled. Now … you kind of have to earn your way out of that, and he will."
