Sean Payton Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton walks the sidelines during the second half of the Buffalo Bills wild card game against the Denver Broncos at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Jan. 12, 2025.

The Denver Broncos were one of the better stories in the NFL last season, as the partnership between head coach Sean Payton and rookie quarterback led the team to a playoff appearance.

The Broncos were thoroughly outclassed by the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round, but the franchise still ended the season with a strong foundation upon which to build heading into the 2025 season.

Now, Payton is discussing just how strong he believes that foundation is.

“I like this team,” Payton said of the Broncos’ 2025 team, according to Yahoo Sports.A lot.”

Payton revealed that he mentioned the team going as far as the Super Bowl this season in the first meeting he had with the team during the offseason.

“When you bring in a few of these leaders we’re talking about who have been to the championship games — who have been to that championship game — there’s a confidence here that’s much different than when you and I sat here one year ago,” Payton said of Denver’s free-agent signings.

“We were in a comeback a year ago. We were young. But a young team can be very dangerous because they don’t know what they don’t know.”

“We saw a young Seahawks team just tear apart the league [a decade ago],” Payton continued. “We have the confidence in some of these guys that played last year, and we took the major hit of the Russell Wilson deal a year ago and survived and didn’t let that be an excuse.”

About Qwame Skinner

Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.