Justin Simmons: Sean Payton 'Helped Establish a Formula' amid Broncos Winning Streak

Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons credited head coach Sean Payton with helping to "establish a formula" with the team extending its winning streak to five games thanks to a 29-12 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

"A lot of times in this league, it's not about necessarily winning games, it's finding ways not to lose them," Simmons said to The MMQB's Albert Breer. "Sometimes you make boneheaded penalties, you make boneheaded mistakes, Day 1 stuff. Speaking from a defensive standpoint, all of a sudden, they pop a 25-yard pass. It's just things like that. When you're able to hone in on the details and execute, you'll find yourself in a lot of games. And you'll find yourself winning a lot of those games."

By Week 6, some might have already wondered whether the Broncos had buyer's remorse about hiring Payton and reportedly paying him around $18 million a year. Denver was 1-5 and had suffered an embarrassing 70-20 defeat to the Miami Dolphins earlier in the season.

Things have changed quite a bit in the intervening weeks.

The Broncos are 6-5 and only game behind the Pittsburgh Steelers for the fifth seed in the AFC playoff bracket. Their record is also equal to that of the Indianapolis Colts, who are occupying the final wild-card place.

Punching a ticket to the postseason would be a nice bonus for Denver when this year wasn't explicitly about contending. Even more than rebuilding Russell Wilson's value, the primary objective for Payton was establishing some kind of culture or blueprint that sets the franchise up beyond 2023.

Based on Simmons' comments to Breer, Payton and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph are doing just that.