ATLANTA — With the Broncos taking their B team to Hotlanta, there’s only one Grade A reason to watch this preseason NFL game.

Will Denver run the damn ball and kick some butt?

After getting pushed around for nearly a decade, Denver has assembled a championship defense and found a bona fide starting quarterback.

Now’s the time to knock down the door and win the fourth league championship in franchise history.

I say: Bring a hammer.

The first thing Sean Payton did after becoming coach of the Broncos back in 2023 was to dump a boatload of money into the team’s offensive line.

It was a wise investment, because the physicality of a football team starts with an O-line capable of throwing the first punch.

Payton, however, has yet to fully leverage Mike McGlinchey, Garett Bolles and the gang.

His lack of total commitment to the run was never more obvious than the most head-scratching moment of the Broncos’ loss to New England at home in the AFC Championship Game, which denied them the chance to play in the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2015 season.

It was a controversial choice that Payton declined to take the points with a chip-shot field goal in the second quarter that could’ve handed a 10-point lead to his dominant defense.

What was truly mind-numbing was that Payton called a pass on fourth down, needing only 1 stinking yard to move the sticks in the red zone.

When originally scanning his play sheet, Payton called a run. Then, not liking the defensive front presented by the Patriots, he took a timeout and a football genius who sometimes outthinks himself, changed his mind.

Payton switched to a naked bootleg pass, putting the ball in the hands of backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham instead of trusting his expensive offensive line to bring the hammer down.

It failed miserably. You know the rest. The Broncos’ dreams of returning to the Super Bowl got blown away during the second half in a rogue blizzard.

And, of course, I gave Payton grief about his decision. Stupid is as stubborn does.

But well into his 63rd year on earth, needing only the second NFL championship of a distinguished coaching career to guarantee a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there are hints Payton has changed.

He hasn’t really mellowed. The competitive drive and the prickly growl are as intense as ever. But it seems to me Payton is making an effort to waste less time winning every argument, because the only battle that really matters is winning it all.

The most obvious evidence that backs my theory is Payton’s willingness to promote Davis Webb to offensive coordinator.

While the Broncos have acquired a legit No. 1 receiving threat in Jaylen Waddle, my belief is their path to the Super Bowl can be paved by the best offensive line in the game, with J.K. Dobbins, RJ Harvey and rookie Jonah Coleman taking turns carrying the rock.

Last week, after one of his routine gab sessions with the media wretches during training camp, Payton walked up to me with a smile on his face and claimed he’s had a serious beef with me since spring.

And I thought: Oh, boy. Here. We. Go.

Payton is a big hockey fan, counting Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper and a number of L.A. Kings luminaries among his friends.

So, of course, during the Avalanche’s postseason run, which fizzled out much too soon, as it often does under coach Jared Bednar, Payton kept tabs on the opinion of the veteran Denver scribe who has covered more Colorado playoff games than anyone in town since the team arrived in town from Quebec way back in 1995.

Me.

“You wrote that you would rather have a beer with Bednar, but you’d rather have me as a coach to lead a championship run. And that ticked me off,” said Payton.

Why, pray tell? What could a perfectionist who’s never satisfied and can make himself miserable obsessing over the bad plays of a Broncos victory be irked about this time? 

“I’m a great guy to have a beer with, too. Nobody’s better to have a beer with than me,” Payton said.

A few moments later, Payton added an invitation I won’t let him forget: “We should do it sometime and grab a beer together.”

Well, I’d consider adjusting my busy social calendar to have a drink with the coach on any Broncos road trip. Although Payton should know that I’ve long maintained beer is for kids. If we’re going to chop it up, I’d prefer to do it while sipping on a nice Kentucky bourbon.

The way I figure it, the perfect place for my new bestie Payton and I to grab a drink would be in Los Angeles. On Valentine’s Day, no less. At a victory party, after the Broncos run the ball down the throat of the Rams and hoist the Lombardi Trophy as the Super Bowl champs.

Heck, I’ll even buy the first round.