In his second season serving as HC of the Broncos, Payton guided the club to a 10-7 record and a playoff berth with rookie Bo Nix serving as Denver's starting quarterback.

Sean Payton calls it "re-entry." It's the adjustment period of transitioning from the daily grind of an NFL season to a normal schedule. That period began this week for Denver's head coach following the Broncos' season-ending 31-7 loss at Buffalo in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

As the Denver Broncos begin to sift through all that was the 2024 season, they have already come away with at least one conclusion: They found their quarterback of the present and future in Bo Nix. The Broncos ended an eight-year playoff drought with a 10-7 finish but saw how much work is left to be done in a 31-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills this past Sunday in an AFC wild-card game.