No, he wasn't just holding back: Sean Payton's candid take on Broncos' offensive struggles

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Yes, Sean Payton would prefer to blame the Denver Broncos' stagnant offense on facing two backup quarterbacks whose teams were intent on keeping Bo Nix from running up the score.

''Yeah, I'd like to say that, but honestly, you guys know me well enough, we're going to have to play better,'' the Broncos head coach said Friday after a spirited practice he compared to OTA days with the starters squaring off.

After losing 34-20 to Jacksonville at home on Dec. 21, snapping their 11-game winning streak, the Broncos won at Arrowhead Stadium for the first time since 2015 when they beat the Chiefs and their third-string quarterback 20-13 on Christmas night.

With Justin Herbert and several of his teammates sitting out Week 18, the Broncos beat the Los Angeles Chargers 19-3 but didn't score an offensive touchdown, going 0 for 3 in the red zone.

Still, those two victories helped secure the top overall seed in the AFC playoffs and the lone first-round bye that comes with it. They'll face the lowest remaining seed after wild-card weekend in the divisional round next week.

The popular narrative around Broncos Country is that Payton held back over the last two weeks with conservative calls and vanilla gameplans so as not to show anything to opponents heading into the postseason.

''I'd love to say that we pulled a bunch back, but the tape from last week wasn't really good offensively,'' Payton said. ''Wasn't great in Kansas City, either. It was good enough to win that game. But no, we've got to be sharper. As we get to these next games here we're going to see good teams that can score and we're going to see (stingy) defenses.''

''I said to them, ‘Look, I don't want to go out and just fill in today, or just fill in time. I'm going to be honest with you, our third-down numbers bother me on each side of the ball,'" Payton recounted. "We can improve in that area.

''These games are going to come down to the 2-minute. I want those to be competitive, all right? And then I really want to work our red zone offense and defense.''

So, the Broncos didn't practice with the Chargers, Steelers, Texans or Bills in mind — those are the four teams they could face first in the divisional round — but were focused on execution and effort.

''Yeah, I was a little salty last week,'' Payton said, referencing some harsh words he had for a columnist who made a wisecrack at his postgame news conference. ''It wasn't just (the columnist). I was just salty.''

Payton is of the mindset that the biggest benefit to having the top seed is having to win just two games to reach the Super Bowl instead of three. Still, the rest and four days off were much needed and appreciated.

McGlinchey concurred with his coach that the film review was uncomfortable and chock full of caveats.

''First and foremost, the obvious thing is executing in the red zone,'' he said. ''You've got to turn field goals into touchdowns and that's how you win games, especially this late in the year and especially as you go through the playoffs. Got to be better on third down — by being better on first and second down. ... We've just go to clean up details and we'll be fine."

After another similar practice Saturday, the Broncos will return to work either Monday or Tuesday, depending on when their first game is.

''You play great teams in the playoffs, that's the bottom line,'' McGlinchey said. ''It doesn't matter who we play. Whoever's going to come to town here is going to be a great challenge for us and we'll cross that bridge when we get there.''

NOTES: Payton said he expected ILB Dre Greenlaw (hamstring) to return during the playoffs, but added he wasn't ready to make a prediction about the return of RB J.K. Dobbins from Lisfranc foot surgery.