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Sean Payton has the call sheet back. The Denver Broncos head coach confirmed at his Thursday press conference that he will call the offensive plays Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, a day after the change was first reported by former Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley on Denver radio.
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It undoes the plan Payton set in February, when he handed play calling to offensive coordinator Davis Webb. A day earlier, Payton steered questions away from who calls the plays and toward the results. “Certainly this isn’t championship football, what we see,” he said on Wednesday.
Payton called plays in each of his first three seasons in Denver, the last of which ended at 14-3 and in the AFC Championship Game, and he called them during his long run in New Orleans.
What four games under Davis Webb produced
Denver is 2-2 and has scored 74 points, 18.5 per game, which ranks 27th in the league. It is also 27th in total yards. The slow starts have been the worst of it: the Broncos have been outscored 43-13 in first halves.
Bo Nix has felt it most. The third-year quarterback is completing 60.0% of his passes for 819 yards, five touchdown passes and three interceptions, and PFF gives him a 48.4 overall grade, 31st among 33 quarterbacks. With Payton calling plays last season, Nix threw for 3,931 yards and 25 touchdown passes as Denver went 14-3.
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Protection hasn’t been the main issue. Nix has been sacked five times in four games, and guard Quinn Meinerz has the offense’s best grade at 86.2, according to PFF.
Webb isn’t being pushed aside entirely. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the 31-year-old coordinator will continue in a significant game-planning and game-day role, and Payton said Wednesday that “Davis is very fast and quick and understands what we’re doing.” Webb spent three seasons as Denver’s quarterbacks coach before Payton handed play calling to Webb this year.
The first test is a soft one on paper. The Chargers are 0-4, and kickoff at SoFi Stadium is set for 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS. Four days later, the Seattle Seahawks visit Denver on Thursday night, so Payton’s call sheet gets two games in five days to show whether the switch was the fix.
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This story was originally published October 8, 2026 at 1:30 PM.