Sean Payton reflects on decision that derailed a Broncos’ Super Bowl run and stands firmly behind it
Head coach Sean Payton left nothing to the imagination with his postgame comments.
The Denver Broncos fell to the New England Patriots 10-7.
Head coach Sean Payton is coming under fire for a controversial fourth-down attempt early in the second quarter. The team was up 7-0 with a backup quarterback, Jarrett Stidham, deep in the Patriots’ territory. What transpired was one of the worst calls we’ve ever seen, with the play going absolutely nowhere and handing the ball back to New England.
“I just felt like we had momentum to get up 14; it felt like we had a good call,” Payton said. “You know, to get up 14, I was just watching the way our defense was playing.”
Payton deserves his fair share of criticism for the decision, as does anyone else who was involved in that awful play call. A horrible mistake that proved costly, just take the points there. With a backup quarterback under center and points at a premium, passing up a nearly automatic field goal was an unnecessary risk. Hindsight is always 20/20, but this one decision will sting for quite some time.
Drake Maye struggled in the snow against Denver’s defense
Denver’s defense, along with the brutal conditions late in the contest, held New England to just 10 points in the loss, bringing down quarterback Drake Maye five times and forcing him to just 86 yards passing on the day.
Maye did his damage with his legs, picking up key first downs on his way to 65 yards on the ground.
With the snow coming down in bunches, it quickly became a game of “don’t turn the ball over” for New England. Denver’s defense battled, but the offense couldn’t get anything going with Stidham, who finished the day going 17-for-31 for 133 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He added four carries for 23 yards on the ground.
Stidham did have a beautiful pass after struggling with his first three attempts, a deep ball to wide receiver Marvin Mins for a 52-yard gain.
It set the team up for a six-yard touchdown to fellow receiver Courtland Sutton.
Sean Payton says it best just moments after the loss vs. New England
Payton said it best with his postgame comments, though. It was a battle from start to finish.
“It was a hard-fought game, and we didn’t do enough to win it,” Payton said.
Denver had opportunities despite the loss and hurt itself with two costly turnovers, but in a game decided by slim margins, leaving points on the field only narrowed the path to win. It wasn’t the only mistake, but it was one that didn’t need to happen.
Bo Nix would’ve won that game. No disrespect to Stidham, but he was the first quarterback in NFL history to start a conference championship game without throwing a single pass in the regular season. He performed well considering everything stacked against him, but the game was just missing some fourth-quarter Nix magic. Regroup and onto next season, but this one will hurt for a bit.
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