‘We won that battle upfront on both sides’: Sean Payton speaks a day after beating Jets

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — When a team wins a game it’s not supposed to and wins it by a score of 10-9, the victory is not about Bo or Courtland or Pat or the kicker.

The win belongs to the men upfront.

Specifically, the Denver defensive line led by Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers. The defensive ends in Vance Joseph’s 3-4 front combined for five of the 14 quarterback hits on New York Jets’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the Broncos’ 10-9 road win on a rainy Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium.

And when Allen and Franklin-Myers weren’t hitting Rodgers, they were getting an interior push that helped the likes of Nik Bonitto, Jonah Elliss, Justin Strnad and P.J. Locke slip in to drop the future Hall of Famer for five sacks.

Broncos’ head coach Sean Payton has been here not quite two years but he and general manager George Paton quickly made rebuilding the defensive line a priority. Only nose tackle D.J. Jones is a game-day holdover from the 2022 Broncos defensive line. Allen, Franklin-Myers, Malcolm Roach and Jordan Jackson were newcomers either in 2023 or this year.

“I think we won that battle upfront on both sides, that was important,’’ Payton said Monday in his day-after-game media conference call. “And yeah it’s been a combination of players that have been here, players that George and I felt like could help us bring here. And then getting the leadership and production from certain guys that are playing with energy.

“It’s hard to sack Aaron. You guys know that, he’s real good with his (quick) release. And to have five sacks is unusual in a game. … I was pleased with our ability to win those little battles.”

Other topics Payton addressed Monday:

— Tyler Badie health update.

The Broncos’ running back who suffered a scary lower back injury after taking a blow to the kidney area was cleared to fly home Sunday night, although not with the team, as 9NEWS reported Sunday.

“We’re still evaluating him now, he’s doing better,’’ Payton said. “Everyone who reached out, we appreciate your concerns. Fortunately he was able to come back before the day ended.”

— So in the end, did the 10-day road trip experience with the five-day stay at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia helped the Broncos win Sunday?

“When you win a game there’s probably 30, 40 different factors,’’ Payton said. “I thought how we tackled helped us win. I thought our ability to run the football in the second half helped us win. Do I think it made more sense for us to stay on the Eastern Time Zone and have less travel? Yes.

“It’s not an unusual schedule, in fact, it’s unusual we hadn’t done that. There are a lot teams (who stay out East between back-to-back Eastern Time Zone road games), San Francisco. … And so if that comes up again we’ll figure out the location but it just reduces the travel and then it’s better for sleep and it’s better for schedule.

“And, look, all offseason one of the things Greg (Penner, the team’s controlling owner and CEO) talked about, ‘how do we play better on the Eastern Time Zone?’ Just have to look at that and maybe think outside the box. It could have been the Greenbrier, it could have been the … It was important it was in the Eastern Time Zone. Do I think it was one of the 30 things maybe that helped? Yes.”

— The Broncos’ running game came on in the second half the last two weeks, both wins, both on the road in the Eastern Time Zone.

“I thought (running backs) Javonte (Williams) and Jaleel (McLaughlin) played well yesterday and (right guard Quinn) Meinerz got a game ball. I thought we were physical. It was a messy first half, it was difficult with the conditions and yet that’s just the way that game unfolded.

“I think (the running game is) still a work in progress. I want it to rest on their shoulders, too, especially late in the game. … But we’re building on that and I think it’s going to be important for us going forward.”

— On Bo Nix not taking sacks the last two games.

Payton believes the ability to not take sacks is a huge attribute for his quarterback. See Russell Wilson’s offseason release despite owing him $39 million.

“I think the sack statistic by and large is more a quarterback statistic than an offensive line statistic. There’s some quarterbacks that are more difficult to protect for. Some that aren’t. We saw all the time on college tape (Nix) was someone that got rid of the ball. It becomes frustrating to rush, if you will, because of his ability to throw it away or to flush and find an answer, or an incompletion.

“But it’s something he’s done well throughout his career. And then certainly the offensive line – I mean that’s a pretty good (Jets’ defensive) front we just played. … If you said to me when the game ended he was not going to have any sacks and Aaron would have five, I would have felt that was a little challenging.”