Football coaches like to remind everyone that the season is a marathon, not a sprint. That being the case, maybe they don’t think getting out of the blocks fast is all that important?
Perhaps Sean Payton has been keeping in mind the saying that “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish” when plotting his team’s course for 2026? Maybe he didn’t lose any sleep over the Denver Broncos’ stinky performance in Week 1? Perhaps there’s a method to the madness – and not just Payton’s, but Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay’s, as well – of pretty much wasting the entire preseason? Perhaps looking ill-prepared and downright lost in their first game was worth not getting anyone hurt during training camp?
The Broncos and the Rams – who meet in Denver next Sunday night – have followed this exact same path to Week 3. Don’t play anyone who you can’t afford to have injured in the preseason, regardless of whether or not your key players will actually be ready to play in Week 1. The Rams – a favorite to get to the Super Bowl – looked unprepared and listless in their season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia. A few nights later, the Broncos followed the exact same script in dropping their opener in Kansas City.
Crummy tackling. Poor quarterback play from good quarterbacks. Low energy all around. Bad football. A season-opening loss.
Both teams spent training camp going through the motions, and little more. In the Broncos’ case, they didn’t even have that one competitive week when they bring in another team for joint practices followed by a preseason game. At least in those practice situations, there’s some fire, some desire to compete and get ready for the regular season… even if the actual preseason game is played by the backups.
The evolving trend for most NFL teams to keep starters on the bench during preseason games in order to ensure they don’t get injured – a trend that’s the product of having high-salaried players, a salary cap and an overprotective players’ association. It makes sense… however, it’s just plain bad for the quality of play in the early weeks of the NFL season. But perhaps that’s a price coaches like McVay and Payton are willing to pay? Starting out 0-1 – and losing to a division rival no less – maybe isn’t that big of a deal? Isn’t it better to be healthy and at your best late in the season, rather than at the start?
If you’re thinking big-picture, then yes, that’s probably the best path. Better to be a strong finisher rather than a fast starter. But what if those division rivals, the 49ers and the Chiefs, both take their opening wins and use them as a springboard? What if they start fast and finish strong? What if the 49ers edge out the Rams for the NFC West title, and the Chiefs do the same to the Broncos? What if the difference in the standings is that one game?
Both these rivalries have a second game to be played this season, which provides a chance to get even. The Broncos have the edge on the Rams in that they host KC, while L.A. has to travel to San Francisco. The pressure will be on both Denver and L.A. to each earn a split, and hope that their overall body of work during the season favors them at the finish line.
Maybe the Broncos and the Rams will recover from their lousy starts and win their divisions, earn a first-round bye and meet again in the Super Bowl.
That’s all speculation, though. What we do know about the Broncos is that Denver has played eight quarters of football through the first two weeks, and the first six were… less than stellar. Whether or not they found their groove in the second half against Jacksonville remains to be seen. Same goes for the Rams, who also rebounded with a solid win in Week 2. On Sunday night, we’ll find out who has done the better job of overcoming their pretty much useless preseason.
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