DENVER — 48.
That was the number that Head Coach Sean Payton drew up on the whiteboard in the Broncos' locker room.
His message was simple and direct.
Forty-eight days since the Broncos' Week 1 loss in Kansas City. Forty-eight days since Denver's division opponent ran away with a three-score win. Forty-eight days of waiting for another opportunity.
"It had nothing to do with the Chiefs, it had everything to do about us," Payton said of the message. "When you have a game like that, you're embarrassed. It feels rotten. So, you had to wait 48 days."
As the Broncos began practice earlier in the week, Payton said Wednesday that "there were a lot of things that we didn't do well in Week 1." In the second game of the season series, Payton said he hoped the team would play better in a number of areas.
Seven weeks after that opening-night loss — a defeat the Broncos said repeatedly was not up to their standard — Denver did just that as it showed its ability to play to its potential.
"I think it just proves that what we're doing is the right thing," tackle Mike McGlinchey said. "All we're focused on is getting better week to week. We've improved, clearly, over the last seven weeks to be able to make sure that didn't happen again. Obviously, opening up the season on national TV and getting your [behind] kicked is not how you want to start it. But it's also proof that nobody blinks, nobody gets down, nobody starts hesitating about what we are or who we can be. We all know it's just about getting better. We've gotten a lot better over those last seven or eight weeks. 6-2 is pretty good, and we're going to keep going."
Since that night in Kansas City, the Broncos have won six of their last seven games, and their victory over Kansas City marked their fourth consecutive win. In the victory, Denver both limited Kenneth Walker to his second lowest rushing total of the season and posted the second highest scoring output of the season against the Chiefs.
"It means a lot," quarterback Bo Nix said of the response. "That's a big divisional win for us, obviously — one of our toughest opponents in the division, one of our rivals. They played us really well again, and we just responded this time. That's just a good football team, and they're going to give us their best every time, and so we just have to respond well."
The Broncos certainly responded to the message well, as they overcame a four-point halftime deficit and 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to earn the win.
"[Coach Payton] just cares about winning so much, he cares about the team so much, and he put us in great positions to do so," cornerback Pat Surtain II said. "He's been doing it week in and week out, finding ways to win and doing what he does. Shoutout to Coach, shoutout to the team for fighting to the end, all four quarters. That was a huge victory."
Forty-eight days after a bitter defeat in Kansas City, the Broncos played to a higher standard — and celebrated a hard-earned win.
