The Denver Broncos play the Buffalo Bills in the elite eight of the playoffs this week. Ahead of that, Broncos head coach Sean Payton spoke to the media. When asked if quarterback Bo Nix should be more aggressive in the playoffs, Payton had a lot to say. The latter provides astute context behind his answer.
Sean Payton on Bo Nix
Payton said, “Do I think he needs to be more aggressive going down field in the playoffs? A lot of that would be based on who we’re playing. We want to be aggressive. We obviously want to… We will take our shots, but a lot of it, tell me the opponent and then it’s like, ‘All right, tell me how that’s going to be done? Are they a [zone] team, or are they a man team? We’ll definitely stretch the ball down the field. We feel like we have some guys that can go down and get it.”
One Broncos wide receiver who can go down and get it is Courtland Sutton. He totals 74 receptions on 124 targets for 1,017 yards and seven touchdowns thus far (averaging more than 59 yards per game). The question becomes, does the Bills’ defense primarily play in zone or man? Well, Buffalo’s defense blitzes at the seventh-lowest rate in the league. That means the Bills’ defense primarily plays in zone defense.
Although Payton wants Nix to be aggressive this week, an opportunity to do so may not present itself. Attacking zone defense involves identifying the soft spot in the defense and executing quick throws before the window closes. Against man coverage, however, the quarterback identifies the hot read before the blitz gets home. This is a better bet to be aggressive down the field — if the QB climbs up in the pocket, displaying pocket presence.
Payton added, “We’ll be aggressive in how we call these games. We just finished with a two-point play to win. The opponent’s here, we have to assume they’re on the road, they’re down one. End of game, what are they doing? They’re going for the win. I want to see our defense respond. You’re on the road, you’re the underdog, you’re going for the win. Just creating those scenarios as best we can.”
