Sean Payton has one rule for Broncos players while in London
The Denver Broncos took care of business last week, taking down the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia to improve to 3-2 on the season, one game back of the Los Angeles Chargers
The Broncos now head to London, England, for a matchup with the 0-5 New York Jets in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Head coach Sean Payton is doing everything in his power to keep his players' eyes on the prize, even putting rules in place to make sure each and every Bronco has nothing but beating the Jets on their minds.
Sean Payton implements 'no sightseeing' rule while in London
After Denver's win against the Eagles last Sunday, Payton was asked about the Broncos' preparation for their overseas trip during his post-game press conference.
"It's going to be exactly like a practice week. Exactly, you want the schedule? We're staying in the middle of nowhere, no sightseeing," Payton told the media.
"There's two other times we've gone on this trip. Once, (Jeremy) Shockey tried to get all the passports and take the team to Amsterdam. So we put the kibosh on that. We played the Chargers I think one year, '07, '08. And then we played the Dolphins in '17 or '18. The guys will have some dinner, I'm sure. It's a normal work week, but we're a ways out."
Clearly, Payton doesn't want any distractions for a roster with Super Bowl aspirations. This is a business trip for the team, and they'll act like it while in Europe.
The former
It took one preseason game for Al Horford to make the Warriors feel like contenders again
The Golden State Warriors are going for one last title in the Steph Curry Era, and the veteran center they grabbed off the market in what could be his last season might be the reason they get Steph ring No.5.
The Warriors beat the Lakers in a preseason tilt Sunday and as always, there wasn’t much to take away from a preaseason contest, especially one where the Lakers were without Luka Dončić and LeBron James.
But one thing stood out: the chemistry with Al Horford and Stephen Curry. Horford had three whole points and three whole assists in 14 minutes of play. But he found Curry on two give-and-go cuts and a dish to Buddy Hield for three. He screened to create separation for Curry and his ability to spread the floor helped with the gravity.
Al Horford officially signed with the Warriors on the 1st of the month and 4 days later doing give-and-gos with Steph Curry like they had been running together for years. Championship synergy. #DubNation pic.twitter.com/DFbUZ2yoXd
— Global Utopia Sports (@GL8BAL_SPORTS) October 6, 2025
Al Horford is a difference-maker for the Warriors
For as much starpower as the Warriors bring to the table, their frontcourt was razor thin before Horford joined last week. Draymond Green is still Draymon Green most nights, but on nights where he’s not, he’s really not. They lost Kevon Looney and had moved away from playing him consistently last season.
The Warriors had started to rely on Quinten Post (+20 in the Lakers win by the way) and Trayce Jackson-Davis at times. Sure, there’s Jonathan Kuminga on his fancy new deal, but it’s also very apparent that Steve Kerr neither trusts Kuminga nor believes he fits with Curry. (He doesn’t, Kuminga is a north-south player in an east-west system built around Curry.)
But with Horford, they have a reliable center when he’s available to play. They can go smallball with Green, still, but not having to will be a huge luxury. Horford can replicate a lot of what Green does, as well, both with his passing and in certain situations defensively. Horford makes everyone around him better, and is a guy who has missed the playoffs one year when healthy in his entire career going back almost two decades.
The Warriors want to believe their terrific end to the season after the Butler trade makes them contenders. Their second-round loss to the Wolves is easily explained away by the Curry injury. But in that stretch of games to end last season, it was apparent they needed one more guy in the frontcourt, and Al Horford is just about the perfect fit there.
The Warriors are old, Horford’s old, the whole thing is held together with prayer and athletic tape. But when they’re healthy, you’re going to see Al Horford as a player who not only makes the Warriors better, but makes Steph Curry even better, and that’s a frightening prospect even in a loaded Western Conference.
