Sean Payton Should've Kicked the Field Goal, Denver Broncos Lose 10-7

Sean Payton should've kicked the field goal in the second quarter.

Anyone watching the AFC Championship Game, where the New England Patriots beat the Denver Broncos 10-7 on Sunday afternoon, knows Sean Payton should've kicked the field goal.

Not just way after the fact, when the game ended with Denver losing by 3 points. But in the moment, it was clear he should've taken the points.

Alas, Denver lost. It's Payton's fault.

Sean Payton Should've Kicked the Field Goal in the second quarter

I get what Payton was thinking; the Broncos were already up 7-0, and they had their backup quarterback taking snaps, so points were at a premium. He wanted to go up 14-0. Which, if it worked, would've meant winning the game.

"Yes, I think the feeling was, ‘Man, let’s be aggressive.’ To get up 14, I was just watching the way our defense was playing," Payton said after the AFC Championship Game loss.

Payton wanted to impose his and the Broncos will and steal the game early.

But, instead of just kicking in a basically guaranteed field goal from the New England 14 yard line—a 31-yarder that Wil Lutz would've drilled—Payton decided to go for it.

Not only did he go for it, he called a play-action pass, rollout throw with a backup quarterback.

It was the wrong decision and then it was compounded by the wrong play call by Payton. A complete failure by one of the supposed best coaches in the NFL today.

Then, to make it even worse, he admitted he had a run called—which is what the Broncos should've done if he decided they must go for it there—then he called a timeout and changed it to a pass?

“There are always regrets. Yes," Payton continued. "I mean look, I felt like here we are, 4th and 1. We felt close enough that, and it is 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 yes, there’ll always be second thoughts.”

Well, at least Payton knows what everyone will be saying all week long in Denver and national media.

The Broncos should've kicked the field goal. Sean Payton should've taken the points. Denver should've gone up 10-0.

Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda.

Second guesses are 20/20.

But even I called it live. Way before the snow even started, let alone affected the entire second half of football.

(Analytics says Denver should have gone for it. I disagree.)

This was before the timeout, before it was clear they were going to go for it. Going for it on a pass play with a backup quarterback was idiotic. Running for it would've been the only way to go for it.

Sean Payton out-coached himself. He got too cute. And cost the Broncos the game.

No one expected the elements to go from cold and dry to a near whiteout in Denver in the second half. If he Payton would've known that was coming, he likely would have taken the points there.

But, he simply should've taken the points. Because he didn't, Denver lost.

Extraordinary Coaching was Needed to Win Sunday

When your starting quarterback is sidelined by a broken ankle in the Divisional Round game, like Bo Nix was, it became clear in the moment that only incredible coaching would lead the Broncos to beat the Patriots.

And credit where credit is due; Sean Payton has coached on helluva season for the Broncos.

He's not perfect.

Payton's conservative offensive coaching in the first half of the season was incredibly frustrating. And his bad example against the Giants, leaving the sideline, led to Dre Greenlaw getting suspended for saying too much to a ref.

But Sean Payton did out-coach Andy Reid in a pivotal game, and then he was completely in his bag in the win over the Packers.

Ultimately, when it came down to it, his sheer will and football knowledge wasn't enough to overcome the elements nor the backup quarterback issue.

It wasn't Sean Payton's fault when Jarrett Stidham was trying to do too much in the second quarter and fumbled the ball in Denver's red zone.

Stidham should've fallen on the ball and taken a sack. He was trying to make a play and not lose a million yards after running away from the line of scrimmage while under siege.

It's one of those plays that kills a team in a defensive battle game, especially once the elements really settled in.

"The significance of it (turnovers) in a game that’s pretty quick, and it’s not a best of five," Sean Payton said on Friday. "It’s a three-hour game that oftentimes these games can be lost, not won.”

Payton said this two days ago. And he was right.

Not only did Stidham's fumble lose the Broncos the game, but his pick late shut the door on any comeback chance.

"Look the turnover on our end resulting in a touchdown, and outside of that, I thought we did a good job in containing them," Payton said. "There’ll be a number of things when we watch the tape I’ll look at. You know, critique and pay close attention to. But it was a hard-fought game, and we didn’t do enough to win it.”

I'm not trying to dump on Siddy.

All things considered, the backup played his ass off. He out-played Drake Maye, the MVP finalist, for the entire first half and into the third quarter, too.

Honestly, if Bo Nix played and went 17-33 for 133 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT, it wouldn't have been insane. The Patriots defense really brought a lot of pressure and made Denver's offensive line look beatable at times. And then the weather just went sideways; even Nix probably would've struggled mightily late.

Would he have given Denver a better shot to come back and win? Of course. But maybe only incrementally better considering the elements.

But, what was Payton's fault was the overconfident call to go for it on 4th and 1 from the 14 when he should've just kicked the field goal.

Payton now 1-2 in Playoff Games with Broncos

Rewind to last year, and the Broncos lost 31-7 vs. the Buffalo Bills. In that game, Payton's play calling was too conservative.

Despite being in the game at halftime, down 10-7, the Broncos coach packed in the offense and settled for run, run, pass play calling that sank the team.

Last week, he called a brilliant win over the Bills. A 33-30 overtime thriller that was complete with many deep shots, and Bo Nix going 4-6 on deep (20-plus yard) throws.

But then the play calling regressed this week.

"It wasn't good enough by us, by myself," Payton said to CBS after the loss.

It was an incredibly difficult position to be put in. Down your starting quarterback. And it seemed like Payton did his best to get Stiddy ready.

But his in-game coaching left a lot to be desired.

After the Stidham fumble, with 3 minutes left in the first half, Payton went pass-only over the Broncos final two drives of the first half. They moved the ball a mere 29 yards on 10 plays. Sure, you need to pass in that situation, but the run game was working off-and-on, and calling some runs would've kept the Patriots honest, too.

And the special teams also gave up a blocked field goal.

Then it was the blizzard of '26. And the Broncos got buried by the Patriots.

A Great Season Comes to an End

The Broncos have nothing to be ashamed of.

They exceeded expectations in every single way.

Denver won 14 games. No one expected that

They won the AFC West.

Few, if any, expected that.

And they beat the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round. No one thought that would've happened after last year's blowout loss to the Bills last year.

It's a frustrating loss but the Broncos need to keep their heads held high.

Their championship window is clearly open now. A year earlier than expected. Now Denver must keep that window open next year and hopefully go even further in the playoffs.

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