Denver Broncos Taking Unique Approach to New York Jets Preparation

The Denver Broncos went to Tampa Bay on Sunday and dropped the Buccaneers, 26-7, to win their first game of the season.

One might see their next stop as a reward for winning a game, but the Broncos’ week-long visit to the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.V. was pre-planned.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton opted to take his team to the resort to prepare for the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, as opposed to taking them back to Denver and doing their prep at their facility in Englewood, Colo.

Why? Well, to hear Payton tell it, the Broncos started planning this even before the schedule came out earlier this year, knowing that a pair of trips to the east coast was in the cards.

“We put in a request for two of the East Coast games to be back-to-back, so when the schedule came out it happened to be Tampa and the Jets. It could have been Baltimore [where the Broncos play Nov. 3], you know,” Payton said to ESPN. “The reason we put in the request was to stay in that time zone … relative than going back and forth four times.”

The Broncos confirmed to reporters covering the team that the franchise has never done this. But, a few teams have.

In fact, one of them just wrapped up a similar trip.

The Los Angeles Chargers played the Carolina Panthers in Week 2. With the following game in Pittsburgh, coach Jim Harbaugh kept his team on the east coast.

The Greenbrier may be best known as the long-time home of PGA Tour legend Sam Snead. But the resort has built a relationship with the NFL for a decade.

That started with building Sports Performance Center to host the New Orleans Saints for their 2014 training camp. Payton was the Saints’ coach back then.

The facility has also hosted the Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals, and the San Francisco 49ers. The Browns have opened their training camp there each of the past two seasons.

Payton hoped the trip would also bring about the chance for some team bonding as they’re led by a rookie quarterback, Bo Nix.

As for the Jets (2-1), they are coming off a 24-3 win over the New England Patriots. After hosting Denver, New York has a long road trip of its own as it heads to London to face the Minnesota Vikings the following Sunday.

New York returns after that to face the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in what could be a critical AFC East showdown.