ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A year ago, the Broncos found a way to respond.
In the days after a gut-wrenching game in Kansas City, Denver moved forward from the emotional, last-second loss. Sitting at 5-5 on the heels of two difficult defeats, the Broncos responded to a turning point of their season with four consecutive wins.
Denver's Week 2 loss to the Colts comes far earlier in the season, but defensive end Zach Allen noted the Broncos' maturity and ability in 2024 as they look to get back in the win column in Week 3 and beyond.
"We've got a good group," Allen said. "Last year, we had a couple tough losses. You saw, we bounced back and won those games after. It's a mature group. Guys handled it the right way today. We're on to the Chargers now. We saw the mistakes and corrected them, and hopefully we don't make them again."
Allen said "guys were accountable" during the film review on Monday and had an attitude of self-improvement.
"It's a special group to be a part of, so I'm excited to see what we do this Sunday," Allen said.
Before the Broncos reach next Sunday's divisional matchup with the Chargers, they'll emphasize the importance of improving. Head Coach Sean Payton detailed a number of critical errors in Week 2 — including penalties, turnovers and missed assignments — and stressed the importance of getting those elements corrected. While Payton did acknowledge the Broncos were in a close game with a chance to win despite those mistakes, he knows Denver must improve as the season continues.
"We have to start with ourselves as teachers, as coaches, and look very closely at, 'How can we improve in these areas?'" Payton said. "And then B, 'How can we apply it and make sure there's that urgency here in Week 3, Week 4 to clean things up?' It's hard to sustain success in our league as a yo-yo team, up and down. So that's the race we're in right now."
Payton acknowledged difficult losses can be part of the NFL landscape given the proclivity of one-score games. As Denver approaches Week 3 in Los Angeles, Payton said he gives plenty of thought to his message to the team to help the Broncos respond to a difficult defeat. In the more immediate future, though, the focus remains on how to make critical corrections. As quarterback Bo Nix said after Sunday's game, the Broncos must be careful not to allow one emotional loss lead to a second consecutive defeat.
"So many of them happen in our league, because the games are so close," Payton said. "They're often won in two-minute drills. I think of that coming in the morning. I'll think of that Tuesday before Wednesday's team meeting, how to shed one that doesn't affect another, but I think Bo is correct. It's a long season. Today's the day, though, that we really have to not miss out on the opportunity to correct and not miss out on the opportunity to recognize maybe why. Then, later in the week, the refocus [is] on an important division game."
ALLEN REFLECTS ON THIRD-DOWN AND RED-ZONE DEFENSE
The Broncos allowed more than 450 yards of total offense on Sunday, but they bowed up in the red zone to give Denver a late chance at a win. Denver allowed touchdowns on just two of six red-zone possessions, and the lack of efficiency from the Colts' offense gave the Broncos an advantage for most of the game.
On third-and-5 or longer in the game, the Broncos also found success. The Colts were just 1-of-7 on third down on Sunday when needing to pick up at least five yards. Indianapolis, though, also had six third downs of four yards or fewer — and the Colts converted five of those opportunities. Payton noted the Colts' 9.8-yard average on first-down plays, which helped set up a number of short third-down plays.
"We invest a lot of time on red zone and third down," Allen said. "I think historically when you see teams … perform well in those areas, they're usually the top teams in the league. For us, we pride ourselves on those two things. Third down wasn't where we wanted it to be yesterday, but the red zone was encouraging. Hopefully we can just build off of it."
Allen also said he's not concerned with the Broncos' pass rush after recording one sack.
"I'm not worried about the pass rush," Allen said. "Obviously, Week 1 was special with six sacks. I would love for it to be like that every week, but that's just not the case. I think when you watch the film, guys are still rushing well. It's just [the] ball [was] out quick, stuff like that. There's a lot of things that go into sacks. We'll be fine. I'm not worried about this group."
