Sean Payton Calls on Broncos to Make One Big Improvement for Playoffs

If the Broncos can get this right, they'll be a postseason juggernaut.

DENVER, CO - DECEMBER 21: Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton looks on from the sideline in the first half during a game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on December 21, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. | Dustin Bradford / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

The Denver Broncos are in a great position entering the season finale. The Broncos still have to win in order to clinch the No. 1 playoff seed, but the Los Angeles Chargers are resting Justin Herbert and other players.

A first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs await. However, assuming the Broncos take care of business vs. the Chargers in front of the Mile High Faithful, there's one thing that needs to change if winning the No. 1 seed is going to serve them in the playoffs, according to head coach Sean Payton.

"The focus was on this week’s game, and the Chargers and the seeding ramifications, really trying to educate them relative to what’s going to be important here down the stretch and then improving," Payton said on Monday. "The one area that has to improve is the turnover margin, and that can happen."

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Broncos' Turnover Margin

Oct 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) under pressure from Denver Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga (9) at Lincoln Financial Field. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Broncos have given the ball away five times more than they've taken it. At -5 in the turnover differential, Denver ranks 25th (tied), which is in the bottom 10, and very atypical for a playoff team, let alone a No. 1 seed.

It's not as if the Broncos have given the ball away at a ridiculous rate. With only 17 giveaways, the Broncos rank 12th in the NFL.

The issue has been the defense's inability to force turnovers. But the Broncos certainly haven't lacked opportunities. If safety Talanoa Hufanga caught half of the would-be interceptions that he's dropped this season, he'd have roughly five picks, and he'd have been a shoe-in for the Pro Bowl.

That alone would have put the Broncos at zero in the turnover margin. Still, there is hope. Payton is confident this is an element of the Broncos' game that can change in the playoffs.

One common denominator between the World Champions of the 21st Century has been their high turnover differential, with one exception: the 2022 Los Angeles Rams.

"We did a collective of the last 25 years of Super Bowl winners. It’s something like 114 in the plus. There’s been one Super Bowl winner in the last 25 years," Payton said. "I’m just talking about when the playoffs begin, if that makes sense. When the playoffs begin, the Rams recently were the only minus-two turnover team. The rest added up to some crazy number, and so that’s something we have to improve on.”

The Takeaway

I would argue that the Broncos have more than one thing to improve on. Throw the defense's concerning backslide into the mix, and the offense's sudden inefficiency in the red zone, combined with the turnover margin, and that gives the Broncos three things to improve during this mini-bye they're enjoying, and the actual bye they'll earn if they defeat the Chargers.