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Even with Sean Payton in charge Broncos still learning how to win



Quarterback Russell Wilson spoke last week about how the Broncos have a "new coaching staff,'' the "scoreboard's new" and how it's "new everything."

Then the Broncos found an old way to lose.

Denver fell 17-16 to Las Vegas in Sunday's opener at Empower Field at Mile Stadium. There was familiarity in that the Broncos, which have missed the playoffs seven straight years, again faltered late in a close loss.

"It's frustrating, (because) obviously this has happened before,'' said linebacker Jonathon Cooper. "We have seen this before. We have to break this cycle. We have to break this cycle where we play well throughout the whole entire game and then it gets down to the nitty gritty somehow (and) we don't finish. We have to learn how to finish these games."

Outside linebacker Randy Gregory agreed.

"Finishing the game,'' he said. "We are still trying to get that under control."

There was hope the Broncos, under first-year coach Sean Payton, quickly would learn how to finish games. That didn't happen in his debut. But there are 16 games remaining. Next up for the Broncos is a Sunday matchup with the Washington Commanders at Mile High.

Payton was asked on a conference call Monday about his players talking about the need to finish games. He gave a 95-second, 239-word answer, not surprisingly bringing up his mentor, Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells.

"Bill used to be fantastic at always talking about, 'How do we win this game?''' Payton said. "Sometimes they don't start out or finish the way you expect."

Payton said he was surprised they lost, considering the Broncos were able "to win the turnover battle" 1-0 and were able to "win the rushing battle" 94 yards to 61. But the Broncos committed 10 penalties for 83 yards, including costly personal fouls on cornerback Essang Bassey (roughing the passer) and safety Kareem Jackson (unnecessary roughness) late in the fourth quarter.

"That's something we have to be better at,'' Payton said.

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Bassey's penalized hit on Jimmy Garoppolo helped the Raiders on a drive in which Garoppolo threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers to put them up 17-16 with 6:34 remaining. The Jackson penalty, a vicious hit on Meyers, helped keep alive a drive in which Las Vegas ran out the clock at the end.

In order to close out games, the Broncos must play smart and also must gain some confidence.

"You win a tough, close game and pretty soon you get used to winning close games,'' Payton said. "I told them afterward (that), 'In our league, most of these games finished within a touchdown of each other.' ... Penalties come into it (as well as) big plays."

Payton said it "stood out" on offense that "there weren't any explosives," with Denver's longest play going for 21 yards. The Raiders' two biggest plays were both aided by penalties, one being 31 yards due to the Bassey call and the other being 22 yards with the Jackson infraction.

On defense, the Broncos gave Garoppolo too much time and didn't record a sack. He completed 20 of 26 passes for 200 yards and two touchdwons.

"We're all for pressure, and it's an important stat line in our league,'' said Payton, adding that Garoppolo did get the ball out quickly.

Linebacker Josey Jewell said Monday not to point any fingers at the coaches for breakdowns on defense.

"We just got to execute out there,'' he said when asked about the Broncos needing to finish out games. "The coaches called a great game I thought, and it's going to come down to those third downs, those fourth downs that we have on defense, getting one more stop, getting one more turnover.''

On offense, the Broncos did not turn the ball over. But Wilson, after throwing for 125 yards in the first half, had just 52 in the second. Wilson was hampered throughout by not having wide receiver Jerry Jeudy due to a hamstring injury and in the second half by having lost tight end Greg Dulcich with an apparent hamstring injury.

"I think the thing to do is make one more play,'' Wilson said of what could have made the difference between winning or losing. "That could give us a chance."

It also could have provided the Broncos with something else that was new.

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