With Sean Payton issuing a ‘no sightseeing’ edict, Broncos arrive in London to face Jets

LONDON — Broncos coach Sean Payton has issued a “no sightseeing” edict in London, but that is fine with tight end Evan Engram.

Engram played the past three years for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have been going to London for an annual game since 2013 with the exception of a 2020 season limited by COVID-19 restrictions.

So when Denver faces the New York Jets on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it will be his fourth game in the city.

“I’ve told the guys, ‘Like, look, you’re not going to see me outside the hotel,’’’ Engram said. “I’m locked in. I’m chilling. I’m resting. I’ve been here four years in a row, so good luck.”

That sort of talk would seem ideal for Payton, who has said the Broncos going to London is a business trip. He was asked about the voyage after Denver (3-2) on Sunday knocked Philadelphia (4-1) from the unbeaten ranks with a 21-17 win at Lincoln Financial Field.

“It’s going to be exactly like a practice week,’’ said Payton, whose Broncos left Philadelphia after Sunday’s game and arrived in London on Monday morning. “Exactly. You want the schedule? No sightseeing. We’re staying in the middle of nowhere (with) no sightseeing.”

Monday’s schedule included running and lifting and watching tape of the upset of the Eagles. Players will be off Tuesday and have practices Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

OK, Payton did acknowledge that some players perhaps will go out to “have some dinner.” But this trip to London looks to be different from the last time the Broncos played here, a 21-17 win over Engram’s Jaguars on Oct. 30, 2022, at Wembley Stadium.

“We were probably like 15 to 20 minutes the last time (from central London),’’ defensive tackle D.J. Jones said of where the team stayed in 2022. “It’s like an hour (now).

Jones, who joined the Broncos in 2022, said he did a lot of shopping in Denver’s previous visit to London under coach Nathaniel Hackett.

“Bought a bunch of stuff that was cheaper than in America,’’ Jones said. “Like a Goyard bag and some clothes.”

Jones said the Broncos staying far away from central London will probably cut down on his shopping but that he “packed too heavy to buy anything, to be honest.”

Jones is one of 11 players on Denver’s 53-man roster who played in London against the Jaguars three years ago. The others are wide receiver Courtland Sutton, guard Quinn Meinerz, center Luke Wattenberg, outside linebackers Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper, inside linebackers Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad, cornerback Pat Surtain II, safety P.J. Locke and long snapper Mitch Fraboni.

Strnad said he and several players on the last visit were able to slip out to attend a Premier League match.

“We actually went to Tottenham to watch the soccer team last time,’’ Strnad said of the seeing the Hotspurs in action at the stadium where the Broncos will play Sunday. “We hope to get around and see something this year, too.”

Well, that might depend on how much Payton actually does restrict sightseeing.

Facing the 0-5 Jets will mark the third time Payton has coached a game in London, his first two when he headed the New Orleans Saints. He wasn’t amused when he took his first team to London in 2008 and tight end Jeremy Shockey came up wth a plan for some recreation.

“Shockey tried to get all the passports and take the team to Amsterdam,’’ Payton said. “So we put the kibosh on that.”

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton leads his team onto the field for the Broncos game against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)

On that trip, the Saints defeated the San Diego Chargers 37-32. In Payton’s second visit, they beat the Miami Dolphins 20-0 in 2017.

The Broncos are 1-1 in regular-season games in London, which have been held since 2007. They lost 24-16 to the San Francisco 49ers in 2010 before beating the Jaguars in 2022.

“I love London,’’ Jones said. “The fans support us. It’s a special place, so they welcome us with open arms. So I’m excited to play there.”

Sunday will mark the 41st regular-season game played in London, and the second of three this season.

“I think it’s cool to touch that fan base (in London) and get those people seeing the NFL and getting a couple of games a year,’’ said Strnad, who joined the Broncos in 2020.

Then again, Strnad wasn’t enthralled with one thing in 2022 visit.

“I wasn’t a big fan of the food,’’ he said. “But hopefully it’s a little better this time.”

Engram offered no complaints about the food when he went to London with the Jaguars. In addition to the game against the Broncos in 2022, he played for Jacksonville in a 25-20 win over Buffalo in 2023 and in a 35-16 loss to Chicago last season.

In three London games, Engram has caught 18 passes for 185 yards. He scored a touchdown on a 22-yard reception against the Broncos and against the Bears had 10 receptions for 102 yards, one of his six 100-yard games in nine NFL seasons.

“I do think it’s really cool,’’ Engram said off the NFL playing games in London. “We’ve been playing football our entire lives and for us to go across to another country and a different place to be able to play the game we love in front of new fans and give them that experience, I think it is really cool.”

Engram feels “like a local” having been to London regularly when the Jaguars stayed near the center of the city. This time he said the Broncos are staying in the “boondocks,’’ but he’s fine with that.