Sean Payton Dishes on Broncos CB's Preternatural Takeaway Skills

The Denver Broncos' season-saving four-game winning streak is no fluke. It's been made in the image of its ultimate architect — Sean Payton — who's been bold enough to make major adjustments on the fly.

Lost amid the Broncos parting ways with rush linebackers Randy Gregory and Frank Clark was a tweak Payton made to the secondary. Finding a good nickel cornerback isn't easy for NFL teams, but Payton and Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph's decision to turn to the second-year Ja'Quan McMillian is paying off.

McMillian replaced Essang Bassey in the Broncos' lineup after Week 3, the latter of whom was waived shortly thereafter. Payton and Joseph also sat Damarri Mathis down, replacing him with the veteran Fabian Moreau at cornerback opposite Patrick Surtain II.

McMillian has been a huge part of the Broncos' unbelievable takeaway streak (12) over the past three games, which has been a major boost to the team. The 23-year-old has brought a fresh, intense mindset to the defense, totaling two interceptions, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries over the past four games. He has three total fumble recoveries since joining the starting lineup.

"There are certain players, and the ball finds them," Payton said of McMillian on Monday. "He seems to have some of those traits. [I'm] proud of how he's played and how he's worked. His enthusiasm is kind of contagious, and I think he's brought a lot to this defense."

It would have been all too easy to fixate on the 70-point debacle against the Miami Dolphins, but Payton opted to help his team learn the lessons from it instead. Wisdom comes from exploiting such life lessons, after all.

Getting past the historically lopsided defeat in South Florida has been a testament to the resilience of the Broncos' players and coaches. Indeed, Payton has chosen to harness the embarrassing, yet ultimately constructive, loss in Miami. Having a team's deficiencies laid bare for all to see couldn't have been easy, but Payton helped his team to "bow up" instead.

"Listen, they've been—to their credit, with each win, you gain more confidence. That seems like a long time ago, fortunately," Payton said of Week 3. "Guys have bowed up, rolled up their sleeves and gone to work. That's all you can do in this league. You find out a lot about people. I feel like we, organizationally, as a staff, and as a team, you get to see the grit. I kept talking about that groove and a rut. There's such a fine line. But I'm proud of the fight and the way these guys are prepared."

Strong decision-making is fundamental to any great head coach's skill set, and Payton's ability to shuffle the Broncos' roster meant cutting some ties and taking chances on youthful, unproven players like McMillian. To quote Bill Belichick, it's "on to Cleveland" for the Broncos because their mission to earn a playoff spot simply can't be derailed. Incrementally building wins is vital, especially with how badly the Broncos started the season.

Payton is working to iron out some of the obvious kinks the Broncos still have — even if they continue to overcome these deciciencies and string wins together.

"If you watch this tape I'm watching, there'll be plenty of time to get focused because it's really not that good," Payton said of the Broncos' Week 11 win over the Minnesota Vikings. "Like I said, the turnovers put us in the game. They ran the ball better than us, they were better than us on third down, better than us in the red zone and in most areas. Better than us in the kicking game."

Payton will use brutally honest coach-speak at times to keep his players and assistants grounded and in the moment. The run this team is on has seen the rapidly ascending Broncos featured on one television segment after another.

Winning streaks are fickle, however. They feed energy only until they become too dense and cognitively heavy to carry... and then, critical mass.

Payton and company are riding a wave that might keep carrying them toward the playoffs, so harnessing that positivity is everything, as is controlling the narrative.

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