Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Monday there would be no changes to personnel in the wake of his team’s historic “butt-whooping” by Miami.
The Broncos fell to 0-3 on Sunday after a 70-20 mauling by the Dolphins, the first time in Denver’s history the team has allowed 70 points in a single game.
Rampant Miami finished the game just two points shy of the NFL’s one-game regular-season scoring record of 72 set by Washington in 1966, and three off the all-time record set by Chicago in 1940.
Miami could have equalled the all-time mark but instead chose to take a knee rather than kick a straightforward field goal in the closing stages, sparing Denver more ignominy.
Payton told reporters on a conference call on Monday that Denver were determined to turn around their miserable start to the season — but ruled out shaking up his coaching team.
“No… And that wouldn’t be something I’d share on a conference call if that ever were the case,” Payton said when asked if he could make any changes to his staff.
“So, no, to answer your question.”
Payton admitted he had been hesitant about analysing Sunday’s debacle during film sessions with his team on Monday.
“This is one of those weeks where — you take a butt-whooping like that, where you find out a lot about everyone,” Payton said.
“It’s a tough film to watch. I debated whether we were going to show it or not, but I think we’d be remiss if we didn’t.
“We’ve got to sit in here, and today – as unpleasant as it’s going to be – we’ve got to get these things cleaned up. Look, we played a good offense, but we certainly didn’t help ourselves in any way, shape or form in playing them.
“It was a tough day. And today’s not going to be fun, and it probably won’t be fun anytime soon until we start winning some games.”
Payton, meanwhile, pledged to Denver’s fan base that the was “going to work our tail off and get this ship straightened.”
“That’s going to happen,” he said. “There’s going to be a process involved in that. Certainly, there’s a lot of work ahead of us. The key is finding these guys, putting them in the right position to be successful.”
The Broncos, who have conceded an average of more than 40 points per game this season, will chase their victory of the campaign on Sunday when they travel to winless Chicago.
