Thursday Night Football: At halftime the Broncos lead the Saints 16-3

Sean Payton's return to New Orleans seemed like a game to keep an eye on when the NFL released the schedule in May. After all the Saints' injuries, things weren't looking so good.

New Orleans is playing without quarterback Derek Carr, center Erik McCoy, tight end Taysom Hill and receivers Chris Olave and Rasheed Shaheed, among others. They lost cornerback Paulson Adebo to what appeared to be a serious right knee injury in the second quarter and saw tight end Juwan Johnson exit late in the second quarter.

Payton's Broncos dominated the first half, rolling for 242 yards and taking a 16-3 halftime lead. The Saints were outscored 43-3 over the final four quarters, allowing the Bucs to score 27 points in the second half of Sunday's game.

The Broncos had the ball 19-14 in the first half and forced a Spencer Rattler fumble while holding the Saints to 130 yards rushing. They could have done more if drives stalled on New Orleans' 28, 13 and 34 points and had to settle for Wil Lutz field goals of 46, 32 and 52.

Broncos' rookie quarterback Bo Nix went 13 of 21 for 134 yards and ran for 41 yards on eight carries. Javonte Williams has eight carries for 59 yards and a touchdown, while Troy Franklin caught four passes for 46 yards.

Rattler, starting his second career game in place of the injured Carr, was 10 of 13 for 90 yards. He also ran for 28 yards on three carries. Alvin Kamara had eight touches for just 14 yards, while Foster Moreau caught two passes for 38 yards.