Sean Payton returned to New Orleans, where he coached from 2006 to 2021, and left with a huge win. In the fourth quarter, the Caesars Superdome was empty and the Saints fans who remained cheered on the home team.

With rookies all over the field, it had the feel of a preseason game.

Payton and the Broncos weren’t messing around, though, as they smelled blood in the water and the Saints suffered a lot of injuries. The Broncos never let off the gas and rolled over the Saints 33-10.

The Saints have been outscored 60-10 over the last six quarters.

They started Thursday night’s game without quarterback Derek Carr, center Erik McCoy, tight end Taysom Hill and receivers Chris Olave and Rasheed Shaheed, among others, and finished it without guard Nick Saldiveri (shoulder) and cornerbacks Paulson Adebo (knee) and Marshon Lattimore ( hamstring).

The Broncos made it worse.

They outgained the Saints 389 to 271, while Denver rushed for 225 yards. Rookie Bo Nix went 16 of 26 for 164 yards and also ran for 64 yards on 10 carries. Javonte Williams had 14 carries for 88 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 23 yards. Courtland Sutton had no goals.

Broncos linebacker Cody Barton scored on a 52-yard return of a Spencer Rattler fumble, and Nik Bonitto had one of Rattler’s six sacks, becoming the first Denver player to have a five-game sack streak since Von Miller in 2018 .

Rattler lost two fumbles while completing 25 of 35 passes for 172 yards before Jake Haener replaced him in the fourth quarter. Rattler also ran for 34 yards on five carries. Haener went 3-for-4 for 38 yards and threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Cedrick Wilson with 1:22 left.

Alvin Kamara had just 24 yards on 13 touches.

The Broncos improved to 4-3, while the Saints fell to 2-5 with their fifth consecutive loss.