Sean Payton on return to New Orleans: There will be emotions, but it's about the game

Thursday night's game will bring Broncos head coach Sean Payton back to familiar surroundings.

Payton and his team will be in the Superdome to face the Saints and it will be Payton's first trip back to New Orleans since parting ways with the Saints after the 2021 season. Payton was 161-97 as the head coach of the Saints from 2006-2021 and one of those wins was the franchise's only Super Bowl title.

That history will be on Payton's mind this week, especially because the Saints will also be honoring Drew Brees during the game, but he said on Monday that the opportunity to get to 4-3 will be the main focus.

"Certainly, there will be emotions going back there with players, but I do think that comes up quite a bit in our league," Payton said, via the team's website. "With players — and, in this case, certainly the amount of time I was there — I understand. . . . It's about the game. It's about the win. The significance of us playing our best football on a short week, and it's about our team. I'll address that with them tomorrow morning and [say], 'Hey, let's understand the significance of getting our fourth win.' I think that's the number one thing, and then go from there."

Payton's time with the Saints leaves him with the knowledge that the Broncos are going to "have to deal with the crowd noise" and scoring some early points would be a good way to keep the noise level manageable on Thursday night.