Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos have a tall task ahead of them. After they knocked off the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round, it was announced that starting quarterback Bo Nix would miss the remainder of the playoffs with a broken ankle. Jarrett Stidham is expected to start this week against New England, and the general public are already writing the Broncos off. But should they?
Much of Payton’s success in New Orleans came with Drew Brees under center, but many forget the success he had with quarterbacks not named Drew Brees from 2019-2021. His offensive scheme is very complex, but it’s also very quarterback-friendly once you master it, and he seems to believe Stidham is ready for the task in front of him.
Today, we’re going to look back at how Payton fared with backup quarterbacks during his career and try to figure out why he’s so successful with backup quarterbacks.
When Brees went out for five weeks in the middle of the 2019 season, the Saints counted on Teddy Bridgewater to keep them afloat, and man, did he deliver.
Bridgewater went 5-0 from Weeks 3-7 while throwing for 1,370 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions behind a 67.9 percent completion percentage. He threw for 240+ yards and multiple touchdowns in three of those five games while leading the Saints’ offense to 25.0 points per game.
Bridgewater, who had started just one game since 2015, completely revitalized his career and earned a three-year, $63 million deal because of the work he did under Sean Payton. Since 2019, Bridgewater has started games for three different teams and has thrown 37 touchdowns to 22 interceptions. It’s safe to say that Payton was the reason for Bridgewater’s success in the Big Easy.
Imago
Taysom Hill is an excellent football player, there’s no denying that, but I don’t think many would call him a great quarterback. He has a cannon for an arm, but accuracy and reading defenses has never been his strong suit, but when he started nine games for Sean Payton in 2020 and 2021, he looked pretty good.
In nine starts across two seasons, Payton went 7-2 with Hill under center. The Saints’ Swiss army knife threw for 1,756 yards, eight touchdowns, and six interceptions (four of them came in one game) while rushing for 479 yards and six scores. He led the Saints’ offense to 22.3 points per game.
This is just another example of Payton working his magic with a backup quarterback. Hill should never have been able to put up those numbers, but Payton built the perfect system around him.
Before there was Taysom Hill in 2021, there was Trevor Siemian. After his time in Denver, where he threw 30 touchdowns to 24 interceptions, came to a close, nobody wanted him. But the Saints brought him in, and after Jameis Winston tore his ACL and went out for the season, Payton was forced to turn the ball over to Siemian for the next five weeks.
In five starts, Siemian threw for 995 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions with a receiving core that included the likes of Tre’Quan Smith, Deonte Harty, Kenny Stills, Marquez Callaway and Adam Trautman. Siemian only won one of his five starts, but it wasn’t all his fault. He averaged 20.2 points per game, but his defense gave up 30.2 during that span.
I would say Siemian was his worst experiment, but I don’t think 1,000 yards, 10 touchdowns and three picks is all that bad, especially when you take into account the guys he was throwing to. Once again, Payton made a below-average quarterback look like a capable starter.
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Jameis Winston was a backup in New Orleans for a season before taking over as the starter in 2021, so he’s a bit different than the other three guys on this list, but I think it’s worth noting what Payton did for Winston’s career. The former Buccaneer came to New Orleans with a career TD to INT ratio of 121-88. He was known as the most turnover-prone quarterback in the league, but Payton turned him into one of the best starters in the NFL through the first seven weeks of the season.
Before Winston tore his ACL in Week 7, he threw for 1,170 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions while adding 166 yards and one score on the ground. He was leading a 5-2 Saints team that was averaging 22 points per game before his season came to a crushing end.
Since Sean Payton left New Orleans prior to the 2023 season, Winston has played for three teams, including the Saints, and has thrown 17 touchdowns to 17 interceptions. That tells you all you need to know.
Payton is one of the best game planners in the business. He knows how to attack opposing defenses to expose their weaknesses, but more importantly, he knows how to play to the strength of his quarterback. He can formulate a game plan around his quarterback’s play style, and it always seems to work. There’s nobody else in the league like him when it comes to how he game plans around backup quarterbacks.
I know Stidham hasn’t played a whole lot of football in Denver, but he’s been there for three full seasons now. He was one of the first few players the Payton regime signed in free agency when he took over as head coach in 2023. Payton knows what Stidham is capable of, and he obviously believes in him enough to keep him around as a backup for three seasons.
I’m not telling you this is all going to go according to plan and Denver’s going to win, but I will say people need to stop doubting the Broncos. They have a real shot to win this game with Stidham under center, and it’s all because of Sean Payton.
