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Sep 7, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton in the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Sean Payton Addresses Broncos' Late Play-Calls & Penalties vs. Titans

Originally posted on Denver Broncos on SI
By Erick Trickel | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 11:00 AM ET

In the Denver Broncos' season-opening win over the Tennessee Titans, there was some sloppy play on both sides of the ball. The Broncos had plenty of issues, some of which are expected in the first game of the season, but they need to be addressed.

One of those issues is with Broncos head coach Sean Payton and the offensive play-calling, and it was an issue last year that often went unmentioned. On Sunday, it took a long time for Payton to get the play-calls in, which cut down on the time the Broncos' offense had to get set and for quarterback Bo Nix to make any needed adjustments.

“I’ll have to see the film," Payton said post-game. "I mean operationally, I think, we were late with one where they blew the whistle quick on us, and we got called for delay. I’ll be better. Listen, it was a good win.”

Early in the game, Denver was penalized for a delay of the game due to late play-calls, a late huddle break, and Nix's attempt to make at-the-line adjustments, which resulted in time running out. Another sequence resulted in a timeout because the offense couldn’t get lined up in time due to the play-call arriving late.

While those issues didn’t hurt the Broncos much in the first half, they could have been very costly. The delay of the game put the Broncos behind and ultimately ruined their drive, which ended with a field goal. While the Broncos wanted the timeout, it didn’t hurt them to close out the first half, but it very easily could have.

With 49 seconds left in the game, the Titans had a chance to move the ball and eat the clock, and Denver could only stop the clock twice. That made it nearly impossible for the Broncos to give themselves a shot before the half closed, but they were bailed out of this by terrible play-calling from the Titans that only used about 20 seconds of the clock.

If the Titans had been smarter and run the ball with them backed up on their own goal line, they could’ve left Denver with less than 10 seconds to try and score. Better teams helmed by more competent and experienced coaches won't make those mistakes. That's why the wasted timeout is a concern, even though it didn’t affect the outcome, and Denver was able to get the ball back and score a touchdown (Nix to Courtland Sutton).

Court is in session! @SuttonCourtland | : FOX pic.twitter.com/Bkd9SaFIAT
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 7, 2025

A Troubling Trend

In the 2024 season, the Broncos were tied for the third-most delay-of-game penalties with nine. This is a Payton problem that needs to be figured out.

Now, in 2023, the Broncos were among the fewest, but there were multiple close calls, and it helped that quarterback Russell Wilson seemed more limited in the changes he could make at the line, while Nix has almost complete freedom.

With Nix having Payton's trust to change plays at the line and move players around, he needs more time to make sure everyone can get set and snap the ball in time. That means Payton has to either speed up the process or make a change to help it move faster.