When Sean Payton arrived in Denver in 2023, he had won his final three openers as a head coach.

He is determined to return to those days.

Payton, who previously coached the New Orleans Saints for 15 seasons through 2021, watched in 2023 as his Broncos began 0-3 and 1-5 and then last year it was a 0-2 start. Entering Sunday’s opener against the Tennessee Titans at Empower Field at Mile High, he has put a premium on starting fast.

“It’s the schedule,’’ Payton said Monday about what goes into that. “It’s the sense of urgency. Ultimately it’s the preparation, the details in this game plan and the team we’re playing. Everything from hydration to recovery during the week so that they’re at their best peak performance on Sunday, sleep included, all of that. That really isn’t even discussing the football scheme.”

Speaking of the team the Broncos are playing, the Titans are coming off a 3-14 season and will start a rookie quarterback in No. 1 draft pick Cam Ward. Denver is favored by 7.5 points, tied for the biggest spread of any game in Week 1.

The Broncos, after three days off, returned to practice Monday. Taking part in the workout was wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr., who suffered a minor groin injury in practice last Wednesday and sat out the next day.

Going back to before Payton arrived, Denver has lost three straight openers. Asked what the Broncos must do to stop that skid, nose tackle D.J. Jones said, “The defensive line dominates the offensive line.”

The Broncos led the NFL with 63 sacks last season, so obviously they will be looking to tee off on Ward. He won’t be in a good position for success, playing before a hostile crowd.

“It’s no different from any other week. … We want to pressure him every time he drops back,’’ Jones said.

It was a year ago that Broncos quarterback Bo Nix made his NFL debut and faced many of the issues on the road that Ward could experience. In a 26-20 loss at Seattle, Nix completed 26 of 42 passes for 138 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions and had what would be a season-low 47.5 passer rating.

But Nix improved greatly as the season went along. And now he is in a much better position heading into the opener.

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“(He’s a) little bit more comfortable with the same play from a year ago,’’ Payton said.

The Broncos also hope Nix will enter the opener with a much-improved running game than last year. However, there are still some questions facing their ground game.

Projected starter J.K. Dobbins, who signed as a free agent, didn’t have any preseason carries. And rookie RJ Harvey, projected to share the bulk of the running load, had an up-and-down preseason, carrying 13 times for 47 yards.

“I think you’re going to have a chance to see a more efficient running game,’’ Payton said.

A key to that could be Dobbins, who has had an injury-riddled tenure since entering the NFL with Baltimore in 2020. But in his career with the Ravens and the Los Angeles Chargers, Dobbins has in 37 games rushed for 2,252 yards for an average of 5.25 yards per game. That’s a higher career average than even the legendary Jim Brown.

“I think J.K.’s going to provide a huge help for us,’’ said Denver tight end Evan Engram. “Just his physicality is one thing. His vision is really good. … He’s a great vocal leader as well. So this is good energy guy. He’s going to come in and make plays and just help the team any way he can.”

Engram will play his first regular-season game with the Broncos after spending the past eight seasons with the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars. He said Monday he’s “super grateful for the journey” and looking forward to Sunday’s opener.

Also fired up is Jones, who will go against Titans center Lloyd Cushenberry, his Broncos teammate from 2022-2023.

“I’m overly excited. … I can’t wait for the first snap,’’ Jones said.

Jones is 0-3 in openers since he arrived in Denver in 2022. Like Payton, he is determined to turn things around.