A controversial fourth-down call by Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton cost his team a trip to Super Bowl LIX, as the New England Patriots won 10-7 in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.
With 9:28 left in the second quarter and the Broncos facing a fourth-and-1 from the Patriots’ 14-yard line, quarterback Jarrett Stidham faked a handoff and ran a bootleg. However, his pass to running back R.J. Harvey was incomplete, turning the ball over on downs.
On social media, Payton was criticized for not kicking the field goal and taking the points, especially with Stidham, who was replacing an injured Bo Nix, at quarterback and snow showers arriving later in the game. The Broncos’ offense never reached Patriots territory that deep again. The Patriots scored 10 unanswered points to win the game.
After the game, Payton gave a candid answer when he was asked if he regretted going for the first down instead of kicking the field goal that would have put the Broncos up 10-0.
“There’s always regrets,” Payton said. “We felt close enough that… It’s also a call you make based on the team you’re playing and what you’re watching on the other side of the ball. So, yeah, there’ll always be second thoughts.”
Payton said the Patriots used a six-man front, and the Broncos had a run play designed to attack a different defensive look. Payton said during the timeout called before the ill-fated fourth-down attempt, he decided to call the play-action pass they used, explaining the play had worked for the team throughout the season.
“In hindsight, the initial sub-run was the better decision,” Payton said.
Payton added he would look at that play closely when reviewing the film from the game and heading into the offseason.
“It’s decisions like that, the tough ones on fourth-and-1,” Payton said. “It’s frustrating. I felt like we’d be able to run the ball more consistently. I thought that was going to be important. We felt like we had one of our better run plans going in. I have to see the film.”