Renck: Underdog? Injuries? Counted out? This is when Broncos’ Sean Payton is at his best

Sean Payton wears Jordans Lululemon sweats and cashes million checks But here is a little secret He is at his best when he gets no respect When everyone thinks he has no chance Such is the occurrence Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs This is the biggest encounter in Denver since the season What was supposed to serve as a platform to provide a definitive answer about the AFC West instead has raised an uncomfortable question How on earth are the Broncos going to beat them How can they overcome injuries and the absences of Pat Surtain II J K Dobbins and Alex Singleton In the championship of the decade Denver looks miscast The Broncos are only the sixth organization in NFL history to be a home underdog while riding a home winning streak of at least games and the first since the Colts Yep no chance This is Payton s sweet spot When Sunday is over be prepared to call this his finest domination in Denver No it does not make sense The Chiefs are too good too desperate and too invincible after a bye week under Andy Reid - and with Patrick Mahomes - at quarterback That is what people are thinking And you can t blame them At - the Chiefs need this meeting a lot more than the undermanned Broncos Related Articles After weeks of inactivity Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin ready for opportunity in J K Dobbins absence Broncos RB J K Dobbins among five ruled out vs Chiefs Will IR placement follow Saturday Broncos-Chiefs scouting description Banged-up Denver contends with Patrick Mahomes desperate Kansas City club Broncos podcast Everything you need to know about Denver s Sunday showdown vs Kansas City Why Broncos Troy Franklin has supplanted Courtland Sutton in WR volume This is when Payton earns his salary and extends his impact beyond an elite values builder He is skilled at motivating leveraging slights and inflating the confidence of a Broncos company critics have diagnosed with imposter syndrome Don t think the Broncos are strong enough buttoned up enough creative enough to hang with the Chiefs Consider yourself warned These guys are focused Payton revealed Friday They certainly understand the significance of the challenge Multiple times in New Orleans Payton delivered in the face of logic Remember Teddy Bridgewater starting in place of the injured Drew Brees in and upsetting the Seattle Seahawks in his first meaningful match action in four years How about when Hurricane Ida forced the Saints to move their season opener against the Packers to a neutral site in Jacksonville and they hammered Green Bay - Or when the Broncos won in Buffalo on a frigid Monday night in and at Tampa Bay last season Stack the odds against Payton and he jumps them like Evel Knievel over Greyhound buses at Kings Island Not sure if you noticed this but Payton is pretty smart And not shy about it But that is the secret sauce on his resume He loves the mental challenge dives headfirst into the mind games embraces being part couch part coach It is my theory that he pushes more right buttons in weeks like this because he is not favored Expectations historically have led his teams to play tight preponderance notably in the playoffs Put Payton in a regular-season mismatch and he coaches with freedom that resonates in the locker room Sean Payton that s my guy I puff my chest out and walk around the city proudly with my Broncos gear on because of him The moment he set foot in Colorado I knew we had a chance because we had a Hall of Fame coach former Broncos standout receiver Emmanuel Sanders noted Thursday I loved playing for him He walks with that swagger in weeks like this so it lets you be yourself He is going to tell it like it is He don t give two Fs That is why an A performance needed after the Raiders slogfest is forthcoming Payton has played it cool all week giving the Chiefs their due He knows they have run the division for nine straight seasons and has nothing but admiration for Reid and Mahomes But this week and this opponent mesh perfectly with Payton s favorite messaging He relishes pushing buttons to get his players believing if not frothing when the football world dismisses them Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton along the sidelines in the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia Pennsylvania on Sunday Oct Photo by Andy Cross The Denver Post Before the Eagles competition he painted the picture of how horrible road teams play before London Before the Giants match players were made aware that the Broncos were the first squad west of the Mississippi not to have a bye after returning from abroad It folds back into the mindset he wants Every excuse is available And that is why the Broncos won t make one He loves to remind his guys that they will play in bigger games a nod toward the postseason As regular-season contests go though it does not get bigger than this Win Sunday and the Broncos can bury the Chiefs in the AFC West opening up a championship lead with six games to play If the Broncos lose they fall to - A playoff berth remains a certainty but a division title becomes greasy because of the Chiefs the Chargers the remaining schedule and the tiebreakers That is what everyone expects Understandable after watching the Broncos offense the past six weeks There is no Dobbins Courtland Sutton is in a mini-slump and there has been so much talk about Bo Nix s footwork this week you d think he was on Dancing With The Stars And here comes Payton He apparently should wear a canine mask to hide his smirk This might not end up as the season s biggest contest but it is the majority typical Payton moment The Broncos are an easy mark Really Just watch He lives for games like this the way he is wired He is fearless former Falcons quarterback and CBS studio analyst Matt Ryan noted And I have seen how his level of bravado trickles into this unit They play fast they play loose and from experience they play well Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis