Old ties die hard, and so Sean Payton took to Broncos special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi’s staunch defense on Friday.
“Darren’s been outstanding,” Payton said then.
Two days later, it was difficult to find anything outstanding about how Rizzi’s unit performed against the Houston Texans.
Outside of stalwart kicker Wil Lutz’s 34-yard game-winner in an 18-15 slugfest, the Broncos’ special teams were dominated in just about every possible fashion on Sunday. The numbers showed it: Houston outgained Denver 147 to 106 in combined punt and kick-return yardage. The eye test showed it: Lutz had a first-quarter field goal try blocked, practice-squad elevation Michael Bandy had a muffed punt in the second quarter, and Houston rookie Jaylin Noel got free for a 45-yard punt return in the third quarter.