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Broncos fans booed on Sunday, but Sean Payton credits them for win
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- Broncos fans booed on Sunday, but Sean Payton credits them for win
There's no question the Denver Broncos have one of the most passionate fanbases in the NFL, and in recent years, they have done more than their fair share of affecting an outcome by making a deafening environment for opponents.
They also let you know when things aren't going well. On a few drives Denver's Week 8 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, fans rained down boos on the offense during their listless third quarter, and worked themselves into a frenzy during the fourth-quarter comeback.
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Broncos coach Sean Payton knows the crowd wants to see more out of the offense and acknowledged the struggles of the offense. However, he loved the energy the fans brought when it mattered most.
"I would say this, there's that noise after a failed third down, but we're still with you," Payton said of the crowd. I say that relative to some other places where it's... So I remember doing a trip down the bench and looking up and saying, 'Man, we're right there. We're right there.' I'm a big body language guy and I'm like, 'We're right there lets—." So there's some grit, I think, with certain guys. I think this is a wonderful home crowd. I just know there are other cities where that adversity would be greater and longer. This is anything but that. You feel their disappointment with that reaction as much as anything else. It's pro sports, but man, it's a special place. It's something else. They won us the game tonight."
Denver has won 12 home games since the start of 2025, more than any other team during that span.
"The crowd's the best in the world," star linebacker Alex Singleton said after Sunday's game. "In practice all week, me and 'VJ' (Vance Joseph) go over stuff. I don't know if people can see it. My earpads are covered. We do a lot of things during the week, a lot of hand signals, a lot of communication where guys… I know who I'm talking to individually on the defense to just be able to say one word to each person to kind of get us in the right situations because our crowd is so loud. We expect them to be so loud, and they are. It's helped us a ton in these home games. It's the reason we're undefeated at home, is them. The momentum and the feel, there wasn't a moment tonight that didn't feel like we were going to win the game because of the energy that we got every time that we went onto the field as a defense."
The fans were on full display on Sunday against the Chiefs, helping force a crucial false start penalty. Payton called the moment "a crowd win."
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"If you could tangibly point to a crowd win, if you could tangibly point and say, 'The false start,'" Payton said. "Just from a play-caller standpoint, one to the six-[yard line] and you're in another zip code with plays. That was huge."
The Broncos ' next home game in front of the Mile High Thunder of Empower Field is another big one against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11. The stands will surely be rocking in another huge divisional matchup.
Up next, Denver goes on the road in Week 9 to face the NFC South-leading Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Broncos fans booed on Sunday, but Sean Payton credits them for win
