Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is guiding the hottest team in the league right now.
And while the 12-2 Broncos (on an 11-game win streak) deserve all the praise, they constantly have to re-focus.
That’s just the grind of an NFL season, where long stretches of success get remembered, but it’s all about hosting the Lombardi Trophy in February.
After practice on Wednesday as the Broncos began their prep for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sean Payton was asked about the Broncos putting the week before in the past and constantly moving forward.
“There’s that 24-hour rule, to some degree. It can happen after a tough loss. One of the challenges in this league, I think, is a gut-wrenching loss and then coming back in and trying to flush it and get on with the next goal,” Payton said.
The good news for Denver is they haven’t had a tough loss since all the way back in Week 3 to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The win against the Packers this past Sunday was arguably their most impressive of the season, but another challenge looms. The Jaguars are 10-4 and have won five games in a row.
“I think it’s about the leadership of the team and I think the momentum and the understanding each week. We have this term, this is a big game, of course this is an important game, and there are going to be bigger ones,” Sean Payton said.
Payton knows the Broncos must keep winning to wrap up the AFC West and hopefully the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but also that bigger contests are coming down the road.
That’ll start with Denver’s first playoff game and hopefully finish in the Super Bowl.
And that mindset Sean Payton is passing along to his players is a good one. Focus on the task at hand, but know even more will be on the line in the next two months.
