Broncos Roundtable: Defining success for Sean Payton’s first Denver team in 2023

DENVER, COLORADO – AUGUST 26: Denver Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton is upset about a call during the second half at Empower Field on August 26, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. The Denver Broncos beat the Los Angeles Rams 41-0 during their third and final preseason game of the 2023 NFL season. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)Parker Gabriel, Broncos reporter: The roundtable is back. So back. And so is the NFL season, y’all. Can you believe it’s Week 1 already? In 18 short weeks, it will be January and we’ll all be headlong into another coaching sear— actually, check that. Probably not. Never say never, but even in a season that seems at the start to have a wide variety of potential outcomes, that would be a shocker. Speaking of outcomes, though, what makes for a successful first year for head coach Sean Payton? I’m saying it’s got to include the postseason. There’s a difference between having a successful season and a productive one. Maybe Denver could go 8-9, get Russell Wilson back on track to some degree and come up short of the postseason because the roster just doesn’t quite hold up to the NFL’s grinding attrition. That could be a productive year that sets up a promising 2024. But the success stamp, given the parity in the league, doesn’t get applied unless they’re at least getting on a plane to go to Cincinnati for a wild-card game come mid-January. What say you gents?

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