Now for the first exam. It’s another type of football storyline coming out of Colorado. After months of noise, speculation, hype and um, work behind the scenes, the new Denver Broncos partnership between Sean Payton and Russell Wilson is set for its official unveiling on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Payton, the coach with a Super Bowl win on his resume, is back after taking a year off.

Wilson, the quarterback with a Super Bowl win on his resume, is trying to rebound after the worst season of his career.

How will it flow?

Wilson, 34, is surely aware of the doubters.

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“When you’re playing high stakes… there’s always going to be people that question whether you can do it or not,” Wilson told reporters this week. “I think I’ve proven what I can do throughout my career. I just have to do it again. Every time I step in between the white lines, I have something to prove.

“God gave me a gift,” he added. “I just want to prove him right.”

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The narrative suggesting that Payton’s lay-down-the-law persona will be the key component is a bit overplayed. Especially now. Sure, the extra stuff that Wilson brought last year with his own support staff wasn’t going to fly with Payton. Yet after weeks of working in the offseason program, Payton gave Wilson high marks for his work ethic. The working relationship is smooth enough.

The meat of the matter when it comes to Payton managing Wilson – and thus, boosting his revival – revolves around the X’s and O’s rather than any diva distraction. That’s why Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine, Denver’s top two running backs, are two of the biggest keys.

Let Russ cook? That idea of building the offense around liberal use of Wilson’s passing played out back in Seattle. Then last season, former coach Nathaniel Hackett’s blunders included using a system that hardly took advantage of what Wilson does best while apparently trying to plug him into the schemes that used to work in Green Bay with another quarterback.

Thus, Payton will undoubtedly seek to tap into what worked best for Wilson during his best years in Seattle. Remember, Wilson won a Super Bowl when he had an offense powered by the running of Marshawn Lynch to complement a dominant defense. That doesn’t mean that Wilson’s passing won’t be crucial. It’s just that he doesn’t need to throw it 40 times per game.

Wilson is still one of the best in the NFL when throwing off-script, using his athleticism to make plays happen while improvising. He will still be counted on for that. And the deep ball remains a weapon. But efficiency is the key.

And let’s not forget Wilson’s legs. Wilson can burn a defense by bolting from the pocket and he can keep a defense off-balance as a threat with read-option plays.

There’s much at Denver’s disposal, with the run-pass ratio looming as the most significant barometer.

With Payton, one of the NFL’s best play-callers, poised to do the cooking, the opener presents a fitting debut. The Broncos will not only open a new era at home, but they can also make a statement against an AFC West rival that has won six consecutive games in the series.

“You’re anxious as a coach to see what you have,” Payton said during a midweek press conference. “Usually, in the first four weeks, you get an idea of where you’re at. I’ve said this before, there’s a race to improve for every team immediately. Who’s getting better? I don’t think it feels any different than any of the other Week 1’s that I’ve been a part of. I think you’re anxious—there are new players—you’re anxious to see where your team is at.

“It’s like a teacher that you’ve had a whole semester and you’re getting a big exam.

Mahomes defends embattled receiver

Kadarius Toney had a nightmare of an opener for the Chiefs on Thursday night, when he dropped three passes – including one that wound up in the arms for Lions safety Brian Branch, who returned the interception 50 yards for a pick-six.

The heat on Toney apparently has been so intense that he deleted his social media account on X.

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Yet Toney – pegged for a larger role in Kansas City’s offense, given the departures of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman − still has a prominent supporter in his corner: Patrick Mahomes.

The Chiefs MVP quarterback pointed out in the aftermath of the loss against Detroit that Toney, who played a key role in the Super Bowl 57 triumph, battled through a knee injury (meniscus) to make it to opening night.

“I have trust in KT,” Mahomes said. “He missed a lot of training camp. Obviously, he wanted to play and rehabbed hard so that he could play. Stuff’s not always going to go your way. Obviously, he would’ve wanted to catch a few of those in the game. I trust that he’s going to be that guy I go to in those crucial moments and make the catch and win us seasons like he did last year. We’ll continue to work him in, get him more and more reps. I’m sure those drops will kind of disappear.”

It’s unfortunate, though, that Toney disappeared after the game and never faced the media. After such a disastrous performance, he needed to face the music like a pro rather than leaving it up for Mahomes and others to cover for him.

Repping ‘The D’

The connection to Detroit Lions players and Greater Detroit seems real. It was striking to notice during a stroll through the visitor’s locker room at Arrowhead Stadium that nearly every Lions player had some type of cap that paid homage to Detroit. Most of the caps had the “English D” logo that the MLB Detroit Tigers wear, but there were several variations. And a lot of talk about Detroit pride.

“The city is all-in,” said guard Jonah Jackson. “We’ve just got to keep giving them something to root for. I’m excited to see what Ford Field will be like next week.”

The Lions, who have sold out season tickets for the first time since Ford Field opened in 2002, will host the Seattle Seahawks for their home opener in Week 2. Yet it was apparent on Thursday that a healthy contingent of Lions fans will travel as the typical sea of red at Arrowhead was splashed by swaths of blue.

“Did you hear the Lions chant before the game?” Jackson asked.

Yes, the hype travels.