Sean Payton did what he has done many times in New Orleans on Thursday.
That’s coaching a football team to victory in dominating and high-scoring fashion, but he stood on the opposing sideline this time around. Payton’s Denver Broncos demolished the New Orleans Saints 33–10 in his return to the Superdome, and he received the game ball for it.
“It was kind of emotional,” he later added.
Payton previously coached the Saints from 2006 to 2021 before he stepped away and tried his hand at broadcasting. Payton had the most successful coaching tenure in Saints history with a 161—97 record and a Super Bowl win.
“I think about what happened here, and I’m going all the way back in 2005 before any of us had arrived,” Payton said in reference to Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans that year. “A lot changed with that City, and I think more than any one of us—any player, any coach—that was a part of the ‘06 (team) and on … it was bigger than football. There were schools, hospitals not open. There were a lot of things that were up in the air … and so you appreciate those people that came … when they didn’t necessarily have to.”
The Saints spent the 2005 season away from New Orleans at multiple sites for home games, and the team returned to the Superdome in 2006, Payton’s first year at the helm. He built a winner out of a previously 3–13 team with quarterback Drew Brees and reached the NFC Championship Game with a 10–6 squad.
“That was a unique time,” Payton said. “None of us were prepared for that. We were all anxious and excited about our new job opportunities, but none of us understood what it would mean. And how big it would become.”
On the field his Saints teams would roll up 30-plus points behind Brees, and a stout defense would shut down opponents. Instead on Thursday, Bo Nix guided the Broncos offense with 16–26 passing for 164 yards plus 75 yards rushing on 10 carries for Payton’s first game in the dome since 2021. The Broncos defense meanwhile dominated with six sacks, two fumbles, and six tackles for loss.
New Orleans didn’t score a touchdown until the fourth quarter as backup quarterback Spencer Rattler couldn’t get anything going. Rattler went 25–35 for 172 yards plus five carries for 34 yards in his second start for the injured Derek Carr.
The Saints took another hit to the offense before the game when the team ruled out wide receiver Rashid Shaheed due to season-ending injury. New Orleans also lost defensive backs Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo to injuries during the game.
Injuries have plagued the Saints of late, which leaves the hot start of 40-plus points per game in the first two weeks a distant memory. New Orleans lost for the fifth-straight time on Thursday while the Broncos won for the fourth time in five games after an 0–2 start.
Denver’s defense held an opponent below 20 points for the fourth time this season in the process. Broncos linebacker Cody Barton had arguably the biggest performance of the night with a fumble recovery for a touchdown plus a sack, eight tackles, a quarterback hit, and a pass deflection.
The Broncos running game meanwhile dominated in addition to Nix’s 75-yard night. Running back Javonte Williams led the way with 88 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, and fellow backs Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime added 35 and 29 yards respectively.
It marked the Broncos’ best rushing effort since 2013 when the team reached the Super Bowl in Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning’s second year with the team. Denver won a Super Bowl during Manning’s final season, and the Broncos haven’t been the same since amid no playoff appearances and seven losing seasons.
When Payton returned to coaching in 2023 as the Broncos head coach, he could only get an 8–9 season out of the team despite the acquisition of quarterback Russell Wilson. Denver turned to Nix in the draft this year, and the Broncos have a 4–3 start with room to grow as Payton seeks to develop another young quarterback as he did 18 years earlier in New Orleans.
