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The Denver Broncos opened their new season with a win after beating the Tennessee Titans, 20-12, at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, spoiling the debut of top overall pick Cam Ward. Broncos coach Sean Payton, however, wasn’t too satisfied.
There’s a lot of excitement in Denver these days following the announcement that a new stadium will be built in the historic Burnham Yard. But for Payton, he’d rather focus on their holes against the Titans, especially on offense.
While they got the victory, he admitted that he couldn’t shake off his misgivings.
“I don’t know how many games I’ve called, but that’s one of those where I came away from it like, ‘Man, I’ve got to be a lot better.’ It was one of those games, especially early (on). In that self-check, in that process, the day after, if you will, if you’re not careful, sometimes, the game will be over and you’re on to the next opponent and you haven’t really debriefed properly,” said the 61-year-old Payton, as quoted by Broncos reporter Zac Stevens.
“We’re really trying to pay attention to that, so that regardless of the outcome, this accelerated curve that we’re on, where everyone’s in a race here, these first four weeks here, we’ve got to be leading the way in all areas.”
The Broncos had 317 total yards on 71 plays versus the Titans, but it was their defense that carried the fight. Ward was limited to 12-of-28 for only 112 yards and no touchdowns. Tennessee was 2-of-14 on third downs.
Payton, who led the New Orleans Saints to the Super Bowl title in 2010, stressed that they need to be more in tune on both sides of the ball if they want to improve on their 10-7 record last season.
“At the end of the game, we’re all on the same page,” added the Broncos coach. “It’s more of the early plays in the first half (that we have to fix). It’s also (about) cleaning up the details of the framework, whether it’s run or pass.”
The Broncos will face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
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