Davis Webb went into the 2026 season as the play-caller for the Denver Broncos, but after just four weeks, it looks like he's being replaced. Sean Payton has decided to reclaim his role as the team's play-caller, according to NBC Sports.
It's unclear whether Payton is taking over entirely or just splitting duties, but he's definitely going to be much more involved. The Broncos are taking a much "more collaborative play-calling approach this week with Payton having an increased role in the process and Webb continuing with a significant game-planning and game-day role," according to ESPN. That suggests that the duties could be split. However, PFT reported that Payton will be calling the plays.
It's a much simpler process to only have one person handling the play-calling duties, so at this point, it seems like Payton will likely be handling that job with input from Webb. The Broncos are 2-2 as they head into a Week 5 divisional showdown with the 0-4 Chargers.
Why Payton originally gave up play-calling duties
Payton is in his 20th season as an NFL head coach, and for most of that span he has served as his team's offensive play-caller, but that changed this year. Back in February, Payton decided that he wanted to hand over the play-calling reins to Webb. At the time, the Broncos underwent some changes on their coaching staff. Denver fired last year's offensive coordinator, Joe Lombardi, in January, and Webb was promoted from quarterbacks coach.
In the months leading up to the promotion, Payton considered giving the play-calling duties to Webb and he ended up making that official during the offseason.
"It was something I kind of knew during the year. He and I visited on a handful of occasions. He's extremely talented. With regards to play-calling, I think he'll be really good at it," Payton said back in February.
Webb's first job as an NFL assistant coach came in 2023. When Payton was hired as the Broncos' coach, he brought on Webb as his QB coach, and the two had worked together for three seasons before Payton decided to give up play-calling duties so Webb could take over.
Why Webb got an unofficial demotion
And now, let's fast forward to today.
Webb has only been the play-caller for four weeks, and you certainly can't pin all of the Broncos' offensive failures on him, but it does seem like he was in slightly over his head.
The Broncos have gotten off to a slow start in almost every game. They've only scored a total of 13 first-half points through four weeks, which is the fewest in the NFL. Even the hapless Dolphins (0-4) have had more first-half points (19) than the Broncos this year. The Broncos and Dolphins are the only two teams in the league that have scored under 20 total first-half points this season (To put Denver's struggles in perspective, the Broncos had scored 58 first-half points at this point last season).
The Broncos also struggled to get their run game going. Through four weeks, they averaged just 81.3 yards per game, which ranks 29th in the league. The Broncos rank in the bottom 10 of the NFL in multiple categories, including points per game (27th overall), yards per game (27th overall), and yards per play (24th overall).
Earlier this week, Payton was asked if four games was a big enough sample size to assess Webb and his future as the team's play-caller. Payton didn't blame Webb for the team's struggles, but he didn't exactly give him a vote of confidence.
"I think our focus needs to be more on the specific and the detail of each play regardless [of who's calling the plays],'' Payton said Wednesday, via ESPN. "I think Davis is very fast, very quick and understands what we're doing. I think that the most important job I have is really evaluating the whys. I think collectively, we all, after a game, and after a four-game sample size, certainly, this isn't championship football, what we see. How quickly can we correct those things?''
The bottom line is that the offense has struggled through the first four weeks, and now, Payton will try to fix things.
Why make the change now
If the Broncos are going to turn things around on offense, this would be the week to do it. Denver is getting set to face a winless Chargers team that has surrendered an average of 26.5 points per game this season, which is the ninth most in the NFL. Although the Chargers have struggled this year, they'll likely enter this game with some confidence, as Jim Harbaugh has a 3-1 record against the Broncos since being hired as head coach in 2024.
This is a game that would sting for weeks if they lost it, so Payton likely wants to do everything in his power to make sure the Broncos' win.
Not only does Payton have to worry about facing the Chargers, but the Broncos have to turn around and face the Seahawks on Thursday night in Week 6. Seattle has one of the best defenses in the NFL and Payton will probably feel a lot more comfortable going into the game knowing that he'll be calling the plays while matching wits with Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald.
Going back to Payton certainly makes some sense. He has a long history as a successful play-caller and the Broncos will probably be better off with him calling the shots.
Denver didn't want to lose Davis Webb to another team during the offseason, so it made sense to give him a shot. Although four games might not be a fair shot, this is the NFL, and, unfortunately for Webb, not everything is fair.
The only potential problem with making the change now is that if Payton can't fix the offense, then the Broncos could be in trouble, so it will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few weeks.
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