dpWhen everything you do is first-class, you don’t want to finish in second place in your own family.
Walmart Bowl II arrives Sunday with the Walton-Penner group looking to exact revenge after brother-in-law Stan Kroenke’s Rams punched the Broncos in the nose and rubbed their snout in it during a Christmas Day beatdown in 2022.
While no one will take the bait this week, this game has to mean more to Broncos co-owner Greg Penner. His competitive fire is legendary. He climbs the world’s highest mountains as a hobby.
You don’t think he wants to even the score?
I asked Sean Payton about bragging rights for his boss, and he sidestepped the question. That tells me everything. This game matters more. And for the Broncos to win, they need the former whiz kid to outfox the current wunderkind.
Sean vs. Sean. It’s on.
Payton and McVay are close friends, united in their success at pantsing defenses for years. Payton has an offensive resume worthy of the Hall of Fame. But over the last four years, McVay has been the superior play-caller.
Payton gave Davis Webb the steering wheel to the offense, providing an opportunity for the Broncos to double-team McVay with knowledge and youth.
McVay will not be fazed. He is 3-1 against Payton in his career, including the 2018 NFC Championship Game, which featured one of the worst non-calls in NFL history.
For Payton, this game represents the opportunity for the kind of signature win that has defined his tenure in Denver. Like the upset of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, clipping the Chiefs without Pat Surtain II and J.K. Dobbins and stifling Buffalo in the postseason.
Payton boasts nine straight wins against NFC teams as the Broncos coach. McVay counters with an 8-1 record in road openers (technically, the Rams were the home team in Australia in Week 1).
The Rams have the better roster, though the gap narrows without reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett and possibly star receiver Puka Nacua. They are playing on a short week at altitude. The Broncos have lost one regular-season home game over the last two seasons.
You get the idea. This is a match worthy of a future sequel on Feb. 14 at SoFi Stadium.
When watching film, Payton likes to ask the question: Play or player? Talent matters. But Sunday night under the brightest lights, the coaching matchup is critical. Payton has to find a way to caffeinate the offense in the first half, whether by improving the 15-play script or surprising the Rams with a new look.
This is not a rivalry. It is family. Old Sean besting young Sean will make the next holiday a lot better for the Walton-Penners than the Christmas Day eggnog flogging.
Apology accepted: Few coaches do petty as well as Payton. But he demonstrated growth this week by showing grace to Seattle coach Mike Macdonald. In a segment he thought was off the record on the Graham Bensinger show, Macdonald told a story about Payton losing it when learning about how the Seahawks used social media videos of Broncos training camp to prepare for the 2023 opener. Payton called Seahawks GM John Schneider, a friend, and accused Seattle of cheating. The Seahawks, per Macdonald, planned to sue if Payton went public with those claims. Nothing came of it, other than a chilly reception between Macdonald and Payton at the NFL Combine. Macdonald apologized this week, and Payton accepted. Not sure the Payton of old would have. But the older Payton did. Don’t look for that understanding to extend to the game on Oct. 15.
Weiss man: In his first season in charge in Atlanta, Walt Weiss led the Braves to the playoffs. Weiss went a decade between managing after the Rockies fired him in 2016. He credited GM Alex Anthopoulos for helping him succeed, while taking what sure seemed like a shot at Rockies former GM Jeff Bridich. “He’s been a dream to work for,” Weiss said. “Especially where I came from last time. I couldn’t ask for a better boss.”
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