ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos snapped a three-year drought in season openers Sunday, defeating the Tennessee Titans 20-12 at Empower Field at Mile High. The victory helped the Broncos start the season fast, and Head Coach Sean Payton emphasized the importance of a Week 1 win.
"We just had the team meeting, and I just started clapping and said, 'First time in three years,'" Payton said Monday. "We looked at the schedule and we said — I know it's a little cliché— 'One at a time.' The first thing I said to them [was], 'You have to understand how difficult it is to win in this league each week.' You go through the slate of games yesterday, and there are most of them that are within a score."
Eleven of the 15 games that have been played in Week 1 finished within one score, and the Broncos' eight-point margin of victory was the fifth-largest of the weekend ahead of "Monday Night Football."
"Getting that first win was important to us, because we had talked about the prior two years [and] digging ourselves in a little bit of a hole last year," Payton said. "I know that some [games] seem more important, division games seem more important, but when it comes to playoffs … each of them are worth the same unit. You don't want to look back and say we missed out on this Week 1 game."
After the win, though, the Broncos' focus turned to the corrections they must make ahead of Week 2.
"Today, for the better half of the next three, four hours here, [time] will be spent on this debrief [of] … the game we just played," Payton said. "Then, we turn the page to the next team."
HUFANGA SETS TONE FOR DOMINANT DEFENSE
Safety Talanoa Hufanga wasted no time making his presence felt in his Broncos debut. The All-Pro safety recorded 10 tackles, seven solo stops and a forced fumble as Denver stifled Tennessee's offense.
Denver allowed just 133 total yards — the fewest in a season opener in franchise history — while holding the Titans to four field goals and just 62 net passing yards.
"It's contagious, his maturity level and leadership level," Payton said of Hufanga. "... I found myself really amazed talking with him relative to his perspective, how he carries himself, his passion for [the game], his drive to be real special and to win. … Our league has had a ton of great safety play from players maybe that tested a certain way and yet had great instincts. They have to be willing tacklers, and he's more than just that. He was good yesterday. I know that."
Hufanga's leadership and football instincts helped guide a unit that made Cam Ward's first NFL start difficult.
PAYTON PASSES SHANAHAN IN CAREER WINS
Sunday's victory also marked a personal milestone for Payton, who moved past Broncos Ring of Fame coach Mike Shanahan and two-time Super Bowl champion Tom Coughlin with his 171st career regular-season win. The total ties him for 17th all-time among NFL head coaches.
Payton, though, deflected attention away from the record.
"When I hear that, you don't pay attention to that," Payton said. "… It's not something you look at, but it does put into perspective how fortunate, how long the career has been and how many good players I've been able to coach. Let's hope I have a chance to win a second Super Bowl like Mike Shanahan."
Payton reflected on his relationship with Shanahan, noting the influence the former Broncos coach had on him while at Eastern Illinois and throughout his career.
"He's been a tremendous close friend, and I would say confidant," Payton said. "… This is his year, this year, the next year, but very soon he's going in the [Pro Football] Hall of Fame and probably should have been in two, three years back. That's coming real quick. [A milestone] like that, I think, you reflect on it more than you focus on it."
