Josh Reynolds (11) of the Denver Broncos makes a 49-yard catch in the third quarter of the Broncos’ game at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Sept. 15, 2024. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
As a playcaller, Sean Payton understands there are moments when you have to throw out the analytics, trust your gut and have a “don’t care” attitude.
Down by 10 to the Ravens, and desperate for points on fourth-and-goal in the first half, the Broncos encountered one of those moments. Rather than settle for a field goal, Denver’s head coach took a gamble.
Following Bo Nix’s hand-off to running back Javonte Williams, the Broncos quarterback took off for the goal line. Simultaneously, Williams tossed the ball to Courtland Sutton, who delivered a spiral under heavy pressure to Nix for a leaping 2-yard touchdown catch.
The play — which resulted in Denver’s only touchdown in the 41-10 loss to Baltimore — required a week of preparation, perfect execution in the moment and Payton being willing to roll the dice when the time was right.
It marked the third instance that he’s dialed up a trick play through nine weeks, and the Broncos sport a perfect batting average.
“(Payton doesn’t) care how risky (it is). If it feels right, (he’s) gonna call it,” tight end Adam Trautman told The Denver Post. “When Sean does that, it puts a lot of confidence in us.”
Payton doesn’t have a philosophy on when to call trick plays. The team goes into each game with a handful of what he calls “off-pace or change-of-pace plays,” and then he relies on instinct for when to utilize them.
The first time Payton dug into his bag of tricks was in Week 2’s loss to Pittsburgh. He had Williams behind the center and Nix on the outside. Nix received the ball on a pitch from Sutton before delivering a deep throw to wideout Josh Reynolds for a 49-yard reception.
Weeks later in a 28-14 win over the Panthers, Nix threw a backward pass to Sutton before the 29-year-old wideout fired the ball across the field to a wide-open Michael Burton for a 28-yard reception. The play was met with displeasure from Carolina players given the time (4:29, fourth quarter) and score (28-7, Broncos) at the time of the call. Payton brushed aside that criticism a day later, saying simply “play better.”
“We get surprised whenever he puts something together,” Sutton said.
For the players, the fun part is the week of preparation that goes into it. Williams said the plays are practiced on a week-by-week basis. A play will be introduced on the first day, then the team will work on it throughout the week.
Such plays require strong attention to detail since players are often asked to play out of position — like Sutton suddenly turning into a pass thrower rather than a pass catcher.
Whenever the play is called, there’s a level of excitement among the team because it adds a bit of creativity to the offense. More importantly, it shows Payton’s trust in his players to make the magic happen.
“It’s a nice wrinkle,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey told The Post. “It gets people on their toes and it’s something for the defenses to think about.”
Added Sutton, “Sometimes plays get left …read more
Source:: The Denver Post – Sports
