Friday Faceoff: Who reaches the Super Bowl first — Sean Payton or Jim Harbaugh?

Paul Klee, sports editor

Answer: Harbaugh

Sean Payton holds a grudge like Khalil Mack is trying to strip it away.

He is, after all, a coach who has “two middle fingers” to fire at critics if he proves them wrong.

So how do you think Payton’s 1-5 record against Jim Harbaugh sticks in his craw? 

Ol’ Khaki Pants owns the Visor. As coach of the 49ers, Harbaugh rode quarterbacks Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick to a 3-1 record against the Saints and future Hall of Fame inductee Drew Brees. Then Harbaugh’s Chargers swept Payton’s Broncos last season. 

How important is Sunday’s game? Well, a Chargers win gives them a 3-0 record against their AFC West rivals — and dumps the Broncos two full games behind the division leader. That’s a tall climb for a Broncos franchise whose owner stated the No. 1 goal in 2025 is to win the division.

It was Harbaugh — not Payton — who was the Broncos’ first choice to replace Nathaniel Hackett. I wrote during the Hackett debacle the Broncos should hire Harbaugh to clean up their orange-and-blue mess.

While Payton has done a masterful job restoring the Broncos’ good name, Harbaugh has the Chargers closer to a Super Bowl. The reason? His quarterback is playing at an MVP level, as Broncos coordinator Vance Joseph said Thursday.

Justin Herbert so far: 560 yards, five touchdowns, no turnovers.

Bo Nix so far: 382 yards, four touchdowns, four turnovers.

The Broncos are emerging from a decade of running headfirst into a Chiefs roadblock in the AFC West. They need a win Sunday to make sure the Chargers aren’t building a new one.

Vinny Benedetto, Nuggets writer

Answer: Payton

History favors Harbaugh, but Payton and the Broncos should feel pretty good about the future.

The Broncos are in the favorable position of having their starting quarterback, Bo Nix, on a rookie contract for the next three seasons. That makes building a contender around their quarterback a lot easier than it is for the Chargers, who are paying Justin Herbert $37 million this year.

Give the Chargers credit for one of the league’s more impressive 2-0 starts, but the road forward gets much tougher starting Sunday. The Chargers are going to have to replace Mack for at least the next four games against the Broncos, Giants, Commanders and Dolphins. Denver has a prime opportunity to join the Chargers atop the division this weekend. A Dre Greenlaw debut would certainly help after Denver’s linebackers had a tough day in Indianapolis.

Denver’s defense is on track to be of the quality that allows for contention, and it’s built on the backs of three 25-year-olds – Nik Bonitto, Pat Surtain II and Talanoa Hufanga. All three are under contract through the 2027 season, bad news for the Chargers, Chiefs and Raiders.

If Nix can shake off the shaky start and get back to taking care of the ball, the pieces are there for Payton to craft a good enough offense to contend for the next few seasons. A breakout from RJ Harvey, Troy Franklin or Marvin Mims Jr. would certainly expedite Denver’s offensive process. Despite the offensive inconsistency, Denver’s a flag and a few seconds from being 2-0.

Neither the Broncos nor Chargers are catching the Bills or Ravens this season. Denver’s set up better than the Chargers to crash the party in 2026 or 2027, though.