Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is an old-timer and he considers New Year’s Eve an “overrated holiday.”
Payton and the Broncos will be going into the postseason for the second straight year as they are atop the AFC West with a 13-3 record, with their only game remaining against the LA Chargers.
After Wednesday’s practice, Payton was asked if he shared any message with his players for their plans on New Year’s Eve.
“I didn’t know it was New Year’s Eve, the most overrated holiday, honestly,” Payton said. “I do find what’s interesting, as we get older and you’re coaching younger players, is that these guys are much more in tune with their bodies. Today’s generation doesn’t drink as much. They’re in tune with their sleep.
“You know, at this time, here we are finishing, I can think of maybe one player who was late to a meeting. Maybe. Whereas normally, eight years ago, there’d be 15. But I’m glad you reminded me. I don’t know that I’m going to call an emergency team meeting, but they’ve handled all this stuff tremendously.”
The question was an attempt to know if Payton gave any strict guidelines to his players on how they can celebrate the New Year, keeping the upcoming playoffs in mind. However, it appears Payton is confident about his players to prioritize their health over holiday celebrations.
#Broncos HC Sean Payton on New Year's Eve: “I didn’t know it was New Year’s Eve. The most overrated holiday, honestly. Like, seriously, I didn’t know it was New Year’s Eve.”
Says players on good teams don't need any message ahead of tonight: "Today's generation doesn't drink as… pic.twitter.com/2EJmabHoDx
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 1, 2026
Sean Payton Makes Broncos Competitiveness Clear Ahead of Chargers Game
Both AFC West rivals, the Chargers and the Broncos, are heading into the postseason. The Broncos won the division while the Chargers clinched the wild-card spot. It is expected that both teams will keep their top star players out of this game.
However, Sean Payton said he is treating this game as a “playoff” contest. The head coach wants to secure the No. 1 seed in the postseason and retain home-field advantage.
“Our focus, this is a playoff game. I just finished telling the team we have to focus on what are the strengths of Trey. So, that’s significant, they’re different style players. But our focus is on this game and winning this game,” Payton said.
Knowing the Chargers will probably rest starters such as Justin Herbert, Payton added:
“We’re preparing for all of them. This is more about us. And they’re a real good football team, I mean, a tremendous football team. Jim’s done a great job. This very quickly became a real good division. The focus is really internal in our preparation.”
It remains to be seen who wins this rivalry game, even though it is a rubber game in terms of consequences.
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