Broncos grades: When Vance Joseph wins NFL assistant award, who coordinates Broncos 'D' in 2025?

Here are The Denver Gazette’s grades for the Broncos after Thursday’s 33-10 win over the New Orleans Saints at the Caesars Superdome:

Offense

Sean Payton spent his Walmart bucks at The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, so Greg Penner and Co. have no problem writing fat checks for Broncos wins. So here’s an idea: Can Payton play all his home games in New Orleans? In Sean Payton’s first 13 seasons in New Orleans, the Saints averaged the third-best total offense in the NFL. Then, Thursday’s outburst. Float on!

Grade: B

Defense

The NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award has been a thing since 2014. It has a notable Broncos tint — Wade Phillips winning after the Super Bowl 50 season and Vic Fangio earning the award before taking the Broncos job. Next up? Vance Joseph, whose work as defensive coordinator has been nothing short of masterful. So who’s going to be the ‘DC’ here in 2025?

Grade: A

Special teams

As expected, New Orleans couldn’t wait to see the return of… Wil Lutz? Well, the Broncos kicker made the most of his homecoming, going 4-for-4 on field goals with a long of 52 yards. He’s now 13 of 14 on field-goal attempts and perfect on extra points (9 of 9). The only kick he’s missed was a shot from 50-plus against the Jets. Do these Broncos love The Big Easy or what?

Grade: A

Coaching

It’s a short list that could have a limited Broncos roster at 4-3 with four games on the road. And Payton should have the Broncos at 5-3 after the 1-5 Panthers visit Empower Field at Mile High next Sunday. Good on Payton, who balanced some serious emotions with a serious gameplan in his ballyhooed return to New Orleans. The Sean Show knows what he’s doing.