ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- In nine words Thursday, Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton made the biggest move he could to try to kickstart the team's struggling offense.
"We'll make a change offensively, I'll call the plays,'' Payton said after practice.
Faced with an offense that has found little rhythm and mired near the bottom of the league's rankings in most statistical metrics, Payton said it was his "instincts'' that were the root of the change.
It ends a four-game tenure of offensive coordinator Davis Webb as the team's playcaller, after Payton had offered so much optimism in the offseason when he stepped away from those duties.
"I'm going to say this first and I said this to Davis the other day talking to him, I've done this long enough to know a future head coach and he's going to be one,'' Payton said. "All the things that are hard to find are going to happen [for him].''
Payton said he met with Webb as well as the team's offensive players and staff Monday before the team began to game-plan for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Payton said Webb has been "fantastic'' as the team has gone through its preparations this week.
It means Payton had already made the decision before he was asked after Wednesday's practice if four games constituted a big enough sample size to determine if he might be a better option calling plays to snap out of the early-season struggles.
On Wednesday, Payton said: "I think our focus needs to be more on the specific and the detail of each play regardless [of who's calling the plays]. 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?''
Payton has consistently said he's been frustrated with the team's lack of consistency in the run game as well as their difficulties on first down that has consistently put the offense in difficult down-and-distance situations.
The Broncos (2-2) are near the bottom of the league rankings in scoring (27th), total yards per game (27th), rushing yards per game (29th), passing yards per game (20th), QBR (23rd) and Offensive EPA (22nd at -7.48). Only six teams have had more three-and-out possessions than the Broncos this season as 27.5% of their possessions have ended with three downs and a punt.
Quarterback Bo Nix's play has also been a concern. Nix is currently ranked 22nd in QBR (46.1) and 27th in average air yards per attempt (5.9) as the lack of big plays on offense has become a four-game trend.
The Broncos, overall, are 29th in the league in plays of 20 or more yards and 30th in explosive plays with 16 (runs of at least 10 yards and pass plays of at least 20 yards). Payton said Thursday he hoped the change would repair some issues and those fixes would then help Nix.
"Bo is the by-product of a lot of things, that position,'' Payton said. "Hopefully that'll be one of the things that can happen, but there are a lot of other things that I think can allow that to happen first.''
Payton did recall Thursday when then-Giants coach Jim Fassell took away playcalling duties from Payton during the 2002 season. He noted he was hired as the New Orleans Saints head coach in 2006.
"It was tough and [Webb] is going to respond,'' Payton said. "... The team did better [in 2002], so man, very quickly it's still about the team.''
The Broncos had faced four teams among the league's top 10 scoring defenses in their first four games -- Jacksonville (No. 2), San Francisco (No. 3), Kansas City (No. 6) and the Los Angeles Rams (No. 9). The Chargers are 24th in the league in scoring defense.
"It's always what's best for the team, that's how I have to step away and look at it,'' Payton said. "It's always what's best for the team.''