Broncos’ Sean Payton ‘at a loss for words’ following 70-20 loss to Dolphins. What next for the team?

The Super Bowl-winning coach arrived in Denver with the stated intention of bringing the Broncos back to their former winning ways. Now, it’s beginning to look like he may have bitten off more than he can chew.

Sean Payton doesn’t have an answer for the loss to the Dolphins

Since there are plenty of pieces out there, where you can get the low down on exactly how the Miami Dolphins managed to put 70 points on the board against the Broncos who could only manage 20, we will cut right to the chase which is the fallout. To be clear, the Dolphins’ tally is the most points scored in an NFL game in 57 years. So, as stated before, let’s get to it.

Following the game there was no way to hide the dismay felt by the Broncos and that was most evident in the way in which head coach Sean Payton spoke with the press. Indeed, the former Saints coach had few answers for members of the media, save to admit to how embarrassing the whole situation was. “Obviously that was embarrassing...I’m at a loss for words,” Payton said. “Every once in a while in the NFL you get your butt kicked, but this was different.” At that point, one member of the media chose to emphasize the loss by pointing out how historic it was, to which Payton sharply responded with, “I’m aware.” The silence that followed was only slightly less uncomfortable than Payton’s follow-up: “What’s the question?” Yep.

For perspective, the Dolphins amassed a mammoth 726 yards of total offense. That’s the second-most in league history, while their 70-point haul ranks as the third-most all-time. As for Denver both of those numbers were the most ever conceded in the history of the franchise. “It’d be one thing to say we’re going to get on to the next game,” Payton conceded. “We have to watch that tape. [Monday] will be tough for a lot of players, tough for us as coaches.”

Broncos players have their say

Bravely, there were some Broncos players who gave the press some face time in an effort to make sense of it all. Like their coach, there wasn’t much to say other than to lament how unbelievably brutal the loss was. Indeed, it’s one thing to lose, it’s another to essentially be abused for the entirety of a game. “That’s the most embarrassing game I’ve ever been a part of,” Broncos inside linebacker Alex Singleton said. “It’s the most embarrassing game I’ve ever watched. We’ve got to figure it out. Thank god it’s only one. But we can’t make it more.”

There was also Broncos safety Kareem Jackson who doubled down on the embarrassment factor. “It definitely feels bigger than one game. Any time you lose the way we lost [Sunday], shit is embarrassing. Absolutely embarrassing. Like I said, we didn’t do anything we put in place.” Veteran Broncos OT Garett Boles - see the clip above - was yet another who was frank in his assessment of the team’s failure.

Sean Payton might be in trouble

Despite the crushing defeat, these are still early days. On the other hand, one has to consider a few things. Firstly, the state of the Dolphins prior to Payton’s arrival i.e., they were coming off a terrible campaign in which Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson had the worst year of his career. Then, there was Payton’s surprisingly harsh critique of former head coach Nathaniel Hackett - now OC with the New York Jets. Payton would eventually apologize but here’s the thing: If you’re going to place the blame for your team’s recent failures on the staff you replaced, you can’t go out and concede a historic loss. With that in mind, it will be very interesting to see where Payton and his team go from here. As he said, it’s going to be difficult for both players and coaches. Watch this space.