ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A year ago, the Broncos were 0-2 when they boarded a flight to Tampa.
Nine days later, they returned to the Mile High City with a .500 record. The trip began a stretch of five wins in six weeks, and Head Coach Sean Payton later pointed to the extended road trip as a defining moment of the season.
The Broncos' schedule wasn't quite the same this year. They played on "Monday Night Football" before heading to the East Coast on a short week. Instead of practicing in West Virginia, they headed across the pond.
But it's possible, as the Broncos get back to Denver with their best start to a season since 2016, that this year's 2-0 iteration of the trip could also serve as a rallying moment for the group.
"I think it's just a credit and a testament to the staff and the team being able to lock in no matter what the circumstances are," cornerback Pat Surtain II said. "We came to secure one thing, and that's a win. It's very important in this league. … Confidence sets you up great for the future. We knew what the main thing was, and that was to win."
A week after surging back for a win against the defending Super Bowl champions, the Broncos had to eke out a win against the winless Jets. The nature of the victory, though, didn't make it any less important for Denver to get.
"The most important thing was coming here and getting the win," outside linebacker Nik Bonitto said. "It didn't matter how it looked like, in my opinion. I felt like as long as we got the win, that was the important thing.
"… Starting 4-2 is a big deal. [It's] something we haven't done since I've been here. It's pretty special to be at this point right now. We've got to keep getting better, keep growing every week."
The two-game road trip also showed signs of the Broncos reversing a difficult trend from 2024. After going 1-6 in one-score games last season, Denver has earned back-to-back one-possession wins and is 3-2 in those games this season. Payton said Sunday that the nature of the NFL leads teams to play in those sorts of games, and he's encouraged by Denver's response in those situations.
"Well, a year ago, we were in the one-score games and didn't fare as well, and it worried all of us, including myself," Payton said. "Look, if you tune into the 'RedZone' channel each week, except for one or two games, they all are, you know, down to a field goal or a possession. Did I want this to be a one-score game? No. But it was. And so, fortunately, we've been able to do what maybe last year was a little bit of an Achilles heel."
The Broncos' recent close wins leave them atop the AFC West with the Chargers, with only the tiebreaker giving Los Angeles the edge through Week 6. After four road games in five weeks, the Broncos will now play four of the next five at Empower Field at Mile High — and they'll look to extend the NFL's longest active home win streak.
There's still plenty of work to be done, and Payton said "the cleanup and the debrief and the improvement has to occur" as Denver moves forward. The two-game stretch, though, may ultimately prove to be a defining moment for this year's group.
"Each step is a step along the way," Payton said, "and that was an important game."
