Broncos' struggles on offense continue in Sean Payton's return to play-calling

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Sean Payton's decision to reclaim play-calling duties was hardly a quick fix for the Denver Broncos' offense.

Denver finished with just 224 yards of total offense while squeaking out another ugly victory, 23-17 over the winless Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

“I mean, good enough to win,” Payton said. “But still a number of things to get better in.”

The Broncos rallied with 13 points in the fourth quarter, overcoming a slow start much as they did in their previous wins this season, over Jacksonville and the Los Angeles Rams. Denver's inconsistency early in games was one reason Payton decided to start calling plays again after he ceded those duties to offensive coordinator Davis Webb to start this season.

After struggling for most of the game, Bo Nix threw a tying 5-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton with 8:53 remaining. He led the Broncos to the goal line on the following drive to set up Wil Lutz's go-ahead, chip-shot field goal. Lutz converted from 36 yards with 1:08 left to cap the rally.

The Broncos converted just 1 of 12 third downs. Still, aided by three Chargers turnovers in the fourth quarter, they scored their second-most points of the season.

Denver ranked 27th in both scoring and total yards per game through its first four games, albeit while facing four opponents that ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in scoring defense.

One notable change with Payton calling plays was a renewed emphasis on the running game. The Broncos rushed for a season-high 106 yards and had more rushing attempts (29) than passing attempts (27) for the first time this season.

“I think it was a little bit of we stuck with the run,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “And I think some of it was just the runs that were called.”

Nix completed 16 of 27 passes for a season-low 123 yards and a touchdown.

“I think obviously there’s a lot been said about his feet,” Payton said. “I think he’s settling that down. I think it’s important from a protection standpoint that early in games, we provide that clean pocket so that clock doesn’t get juiced up a little bit. But I think when we needed it down the stretch, there were some plays he had.”

While acknowledging it was not his best game, Nix demurred when asked if the change in play-calling had any impact on his performance.

“I think it was smooth,” he said. “It was a collaboration. ... I thought it was normal.”

Payton will look to make improvements quickly, with the Broncos set to face Seattle on Thursday night.

“You’re always you’re looking for small steps.,” Payton said. “There were some things that were that were good ... but you know, just I’ve got to be a little bit better too.”

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Denver Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins, right, runs in for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Strazzante) Correction corrects month to Oct.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton gestures from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix passes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton cheers his team prior to an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — People in the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama cleaned up after Hurricane Isaias swept through as the storm's remnants caused flooding in North Carolina on Sunday, while powerful Pacific Ocean waves stirred up by Rachel, a former tropical storm, battered the coast of Southern California.

In western North Carolina, rivers overflowed as heavy rainfall raised the risk of flash and urban flooding, according to the National Weather Service. It said tornadoes were possible in parts of Virginia and North Carolina as well as dangerous surf and rip current conditions along the Gulf and southeastern Atlantic coasts.

At least four deaths were linked to Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, which came ashore as a Category 2 hurricane Friday near Destin, Florida, a Gulf Coast vacation spot filled with high-rises and tourist shops. The storm then roared into Alabama with tropical-force winds before heading farther north.

In Florida’s Escambia County, Sheriff Chip Simmons said a woman was killed when a tree fell on her home and a man died of carbon monoxide fumes from a generator running in his garage.

One person died when a tree fell on a house in Birmingham, said Cory Moon, the city’s fire chief. A second storm-related death in Alabama was attributed to a motor vehicle crash involving a downed tree in Barbour County, said Josh Johnson of the state’s emergency management agency.

In Burke County, North Carolina, an unhoused male and female were camping when floodwaters from the Catawba River caught them off guard. They were rescued, along with their dog, according to a spokesperson for the county emergency management agency. Separately, a woman trapped inside her car in floodwaters was freed outside of Morganton.

In McDowell County, North Carolina, just west of Burke County, first responders said they dealt with five landslides and voluntary evacuations overnight Saturday into Sunday as they responded to flooded roads and streams overflowing their banks.

Nearly a dozen local weather stations in the western North Carolina county reported torrential 24-hour rainfall totals from about 5 inches (13 centimeters) to as much as 9.57 inches (24 centimeters) at the fire/rescue station in Enola. The weather service said rainfall was diminishing in the area but that rapid river rises and flooding remained possible.

Hurricane-force winds in the Florida Panhandle blew the roof off a Pensacola hotel. The storm flattened a boathouse in Destin and ripped away part of the facade of a high-rise in Panama City Beach.

At a church in Pensacola where the United Cajun Navy was distributing supplies Sunday morning, a line of hundreds of cars stretched around the block. Yvette Haro said she arrived at 5 a.m. after being turned away the previous day because supplies had run out.

With a 10-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter at home, she said it's hard to go to stores and wait in long lines. She was looking for water, paper towels, toilet paper and cleaning supplies.

While her home didn't suffer any damage, the loss of electricity was making things difficult, Haro said. “The biggest thing is our food going bad,” she said.

About 226,000 customers remained without power Sunday evening in the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama, according to poweroutage.com. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he expected nearly everyone to have it restored by Tuesday night.

Rachel became a post-tropical cyclone overnight, bringing unusually big waves to Southern California.

Waves battered a century-old wooden boardwalk on the Long Beach peninsula and forced homeowners to evacuate. The strip of multimillion-dollar oceanfront properties, along with much of the Southern California coastline, was already reeling from Hurricane Marie in September.

“This area is completely shattered and vulnerable,” Jack Gordon, a Long Beach real estate agent, said.

The Pacific Ocean is abnormally warm, about 7 to 8 degrees F warmer than normal for this time of year, due to the El Niño weather pattern, said Joe Sirard of the weather service in Oxnard, California

“When we have this warm water, it actually causes the ocean to rise above the normal predicted tide levels,” Sirard said. That's affected by Rachel's ocean swells and wind gusts. The City of Long Beach placed dozens of 3,000-pound (1,360-kilogram) sandbags along the stretch of peninsula where waves tore apart the historic boardwalk and smashed against coastal homes.

Jazmin Evers, a 37-year-old mother who runs a pottery business from her Long Beach rental home, said the community is on edge. “Every time the tide goes down everyone just kind of takes a breath — except, of course, the people whose buildings are being destroyed,” she said. “When the tide comes back up, everybody’s nerves kind of ramp back up.” Rachel dissipated over Las Vegas as it drenched deserts across the Southwest. An inch (2.4 centimeters) of rain fell in the city Sunday, leading to gushing water and flooded streets on the Las Vegas Strip.

Brumback reported from Atlanta. Walker reported from New York. Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, Jack Brook in New Orleans and Josh Kelety in Phoenix also contributed.

Lifeguards watch the waves crash on Alamitos Peninsula, brought by Tropical Storm Rachel, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Jill Connelly)

A kitesurfer rides in rough surf at Cardiff State Beach in Encinitas, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, due to Tropical Storm Rachel. (Denis Poroy/AP Photo)

People watch the waves crash along Alamitos Peninsula, brought by Tropical Storm Rachel, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Jill Connelly)

A woman rests from cleaning up the effects of Tropical Storm Rachel along the Alamitos Peninsula, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Jill Connelly)

Waves crash by homes and the boardwalk damaged by Tropical Storm Rachel along Alamitos Peninsula, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Jill Connelly)

Workers pile sand along Alamitos Peninsula, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Long Beach, Calif., affected by Tropical Storm Rachel. (AP Photo/Jill Connelly)

Waves crash by homes and the boardwalk damaged by Tropical Storm Rachel along Alamitos Peninsula, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Jill Connelly)

A woman rests from cleaning up the effects of Tropical Storm Rachel along the Alamitos Peninsula, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Jill Connelly)

People watch the waves crash along Alamitos Peninsula, brought by Tropical Storm Rachel, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Jill Connelly)

Waves damage a home in Long Beach, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Downed trees are seen in lawns in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Milton, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Instructors from the San Diego Surf School give surfing lessons to two children in San Diego on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (Denis Poroy/AP Photo)

Onlookers watch as storm driven surf batters the bluffs in the La Jolla area of San Diego on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (Denis Poroy/AP Photo)

In an aerial view, beachfront homes have damaged decks after waves crashed into them during high tide and storm surge from Tropical Storm Rachel, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Long Beach, Calif. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

In an aerial view, waves crash into beachfront homes during high tide and storm surge from Tropical Storm Rachel, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Long Beach, Calif. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Jeff Lundy cuts up a pine tree that fell on his father-in-law's house during Isaias on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Milton, Fla. (AP Photo/Octavio Jones)

Baleigh Ziglar walks around downed trees in front of her mother's home in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Milton, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Curt Brown picks up debris left by Isaias around his RV home on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Milton, Fla. (AP Photo/Octavio Jones)

People salvage the contents of their destroyed mini mart in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Milton, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

An apartment complex which had its roof ripped off is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Milton, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)