ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — This week's film study looked a little bit different.
On Wednesday, Head Coach Sean Payton showed the Broncos a montage of some of the toughest moments throughout his coaching career, ranging from his time at Indiana State in the early '90s to his time as head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
For the Broncos, who suffered a tough, last-second loss to the Chiefs on Sunday, it was a lesson that extended beyond just the Week 10 loss — and even beyond the game of football.
"The point of the film, I said to them, 'I don't have enough time here to show you all the good clips,'" Payton said. "But just like in life, we're going to have some [setbacks], and then we get up and we start fighting again. So, there was just a message behind that. Every one of us here has that film in some way, shape or form."
The impact, it seems, was immediate. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix said Payton's message offered a reminder of the importance of resiliency — and perspective — as the team approaches a crucial stretch of upcoming games.
"[If] you play this game long enough, you're going to have those moments and the games that you look back on," Nix said. "And sometimes they're the more negative ones that you remember. ... [You] can't lose track of the good moments that have happened in the practices and in the offseason and in the season. There [are] so many more good moments that happen, and sometimes [you need] perspective. You've got to look at those more than you look at the negative ones, even though they may hurt and linger for a while. You just kind of have to move past them and learn from them, and [you] ultimately put your mind on the good and try to get back to the good."
There was still plenty of good to focus on following Week 10. Nix posted his best performance on the road, while running back Audric Estime had a breakout performance to spark the run game for Denver. The Broncos' defensive unit had a rebound performance after struggling in Week 9, sacking quarterback Patrick Mahomes four times and holding the Chiefs to their lowest point total of the season.
So even in the aftermath of a blocked field-goal attempt that would have given Denver its first win in Arrowhead since 2015, Nix said his focus immediately turned to the next opportunity.
"As soon as that game ended and we were going into the locker room, I was on to the next one, and I couldn't wait to get back on the field and play again," Nix said. "So, that's really my mindset right now. And we come out here to practice, and everybody's got that mindset."
As the Broncos now prepare to take on the 6-4 Atlanta Falcons at home, they will look to focus on the good and embrace the opportunity to improve, while still applying the important lessons learned during the Week 10 loss.
"We're a little bit ticked off with how it ended, rightfully so," Nix said. "We all hate losing, we've got a competitive team [and] we didn't like how it ended. So, we want to make sure that we avoid that at all costs moving forward. But, we're all excited to get back to Sunday."
For Payton, Wednesday's film was a key first step in that process.
"I think the response [was good]," Payton said. "We had a good practice today, [really] good. So, we get ready for this [Falcons] team. It's an entirely different type of team relative to what they do schematically — how they run the ball, what they do defensively — than the team we just played. So, we've got to lock in and be ready for a different type of an opponent."
