The Denver Broncos had made the wrong kind of history entering Sunday’s game with the Green Bay Packers.
They had blown 10 straight games with a halftime lead, the most in NFL history. Three of those had come this year under head coach Sean Payton.
But when Payton was asked about ending it postgame, he wasn’t thrilled. The Broncos led the Packers 9-0 at halftime and held on for a 19-17 victory.
“My team hasn’t blown 10 straight. You said ‘your team.’ So let’s start and say ‘the Denver Broncos historically.’ I don’t pay attention to that,” Payton told a reporter.
The problem? Troy Renck of Denver7 and 104.3 The Fan actually said “this team” and not Payton’s team. It was a weird thing to get testy about, with Payton not exactly enjoying Denver’s second win of the season.
“I don’t pay attention to that. I don’t pay attention to it,” Payton said again.
When Renck mentioned if it was good to see the Broncos “get over the hump,” Payton continued with his displeasure.
“It wasn’t our hump. I’m saying that respectfully. It wasn’t our hump. We’re trying to win. (Broncos PR) mentioned it to me, and I thought it’s one of these ‘alright, what next?’ Meaning, in New Orleans, we hadn’t won a playoff game on the road. The good teams don’t have those issues and the teams that aren’t as good have halftime, whatever,” Payton said.
He went back to the “your team” line before finally moving on.
“‘Your team’ would not be the right word for it. So, um, anything else?” Payton said.
Regardless of Payton’s surly mood, Denver is now 2-5 and finally won at Empower Field at Mile High. The Broncos were 0-3 at home entering the game.
They’ll have a much tougher test next with the Kansas City Chiefs coming to town. And a halftime lead to blow in that game would be considered a minor miracle.
