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Sean Payton made a point of getting to the Superdome long before he normally would for a game — six hours before kickoff — so he could ease into his emotional return to a place where he coached on the home sideline for a decade and a half. His return to New Orleans was made better by seeing his current team, the Denver Broncos, win handily.
“Coming back here is different and kind of special,” Payton said.
“To be with this team and this ownership group — it’s the reason you miss it. One year out, and you miss the relationships. You miss making memories. … Being around young people and having a chance to be part of their journey and coach them is a pretty good job. I’m thankful for it. Yeah, it was kind of emotional.”
Payton received the game ball from his team after the double-digit win, which he shared “meant a lot” to him.
Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix passed for 164 yards and ran for 75 yards for Denver (4-3), which dominated statistically. The Broncos outgained the Saints 389 yards to 271 while sending New Orleans (2-5) to its fifth straight defeat. Broncos RB Javonte Williams punched in two scores and LB Cody Barton returned a fumble 52 yards for a score in the 33-10 victory.
“It was awesome. The Saints mean a lot to him. He was there for a while and had amazing success,” Nix said, alluding to Payton’s franchise-high 152 regular-season victories with the Saints from 2006 to 2021, and his Super Bowl-winning season in 2009. “I’m happy for him.”
Denver’s defense, which ranked fourth in the NFL in yards allowed heading into Thursday’s tilt, finished with six sacks.
During halftime, the Saints inducted former QB and 13-time Pro Bowler Drew Brees into the franchise’s Hall of Fame. Payton, Brees’ head coach during his time with the Saints, said that it’s “always good” to see the legendary signal-caller.
In Payton’s reign as the Saints’ head coach (2006-21), they won Super Bowl XLIV, had nine 10-plus-win seasons and made the playoffs nine times. New Orleans went…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/broncos-hc-sean-payton-details-emotional-win-vs-saints-superdome-return
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Publish date : 2024-10-18 19:09:47
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