ENGLEWOOD, CO — The Denver Broncos are facing a tremendous opportunity this week as they prepare to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in a highly anticipated rematch. Just two weeks ago, the Chiefs struck the first blow, but the Broncos are eager to swing back ahead of their bye week.

Denver Broncos eager to flip the switch vs. Kansas City

Broncos head coach Sean Payton is hard to please. As a coach, his perfectionist mentality is a blessing and curse, and even he would tell you that.

One thing he’d love for his team to do is find a way to flip the switch and string off a run of wins after their disappointing 2-5 start.

“At the beginning of last week, I referenced to our team that there have been a number of examples,” Payton said this week. “I used the Lions last year as an example [who started] 1-6 then flipped the switch. There has been a history, and there has been a ton [of teams]. The Carolina Panthers team that Denver beat in the Super Bowl—the year prior. Not the year they went to the Super Bowl but the year prior—they kind of had one of those ‘flip the switch’ [moments] towards mid-season. They beat the snot out of us in the Super Dome and went on a little bit of a roll and it carried over into the next season. That fine line between being good or not being good is important to study. One of the things, in both of those cases, but let’s take Detroit for instance. That change had a lot to do with takeaways and giveaways. That’s where ours has to start. We were good yesterday with no giveaways, and we had the takeaway late in the game. The other stuff you can do really well, and yet if you give it away—we can come in and look at the red zone and third down stat lines. We can look at a lot of things that are positive, but if you give it away, it’s the one thing that can trump everything. Hopefully that can have the same type of effect as the pre-snap stuff when we preach these things, relative to what wins and loses [games].”

This NFL season has already seen its fair share of twists and turns, and a potential Broncos resurgence isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

With the NFL trade deadline approaching, Payton reiterated the team’s focus is solely on winning with the players on their roster.

“Oh, no, no, no,” Payton said regarding the upcoming trade deadline and if a loss to KC on Sunday impacts their plans. “It’s next week, I think, at some point. But no. I don’t think—no. We’re focused on winning with this group and these guys here. We went through this in the offseason, too. It’s the new cycle and it’s part of the deal. No, not at all.”

Broncos practice report from Wednesday

For the second consecutive week, the Broncos entered Wednesday’s practice relatively healthy at a crucial juncture of the season.

The only player on the active roster who was a noted non-participant was running back and special teams ace Dwayne Washington.

Following practice, the team announced their official practice report and injury status for this week.

  • Safety Justin Simmons was a limited participant with a hip designation.
  • Running back Dwayne Washington did not participate with a knee designation.
  • Outside linebacker Baron Browning was a full participant with a wrist designation.

Broncos bits

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Denver Broncos had several players noted for their performances on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. *RYOE means rushing yards over expectation.

  • RB Javonte Williams looked good in Week 7, gaining 82 yards on 15 carries (+33 RYOE, most this week). He was the only RB this weekend to see a stacked box on 40% or more of his carries and still generate +10 or more RYOE.
  • Courtland Sutton hit a top speed of 21.05mph on his 1st quarter, 33-yard catch, the fastest speed among WRs in Week 7 (2nd fastest among all ball carriers, 19th fastest overall this season).
  • Jerry Jeudy played well against the Packers on Sunday, grabbing all 5 of his targets for 64 yards. Impressively, he managed to generate an average of 4.7 yards of separation (3rd most) while still having an average targeted air yards mark of 9.4.
  • Safety Kareem Jackson’s initial four-game suspension was reduced to two games after he appealed the league’s ruling.
    • Justin Simmons shared his thoughts on Kareem’s suspension and touched on the impact he’s had on his career and how he plays the game.