DENVER (AP) — Sean Payton admitted he will reconsider his decision to pass up an easy field goal and the play he called.
The Denver Broncos and their fans have spent the entire offseason debating which part of the game was worse in the crucial fourth quarter and first quarter now.
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Because Payton decided not to kick a field goal to take a 10-0 lead in good weather in the first half of Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots, the Broncos ultimately needed one after halftime when wind and snow blew in. This decision played an integral role in the Denver Nuggets’ 10-7 loss.
“There’s always regrets,” Payton said. “I feel like here, fourth and first, it’s close enough — and that’s a decision you make based on the team you’re playing and what you see on the other side of the ball. Yeah, there’s always second thoughts.”
That fateful move puts the Broncos on a slide that would be challenging for any quarterback — let alone perennial backup Jarrett Stidham.
Everyone from Bill Cowher on the pregame show to Tony Romo in the broadcast booth was talking about the importance of the Broncos scoring every point with Stidham filling in for the injured Bonix, but Payton didn’t heed the advice.
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On a day when the Denver defense gave up a touchdown, Will Lutz missed two field goals (one of which was blocked). The score was set when Stidham passed the ball deep in New England territory.
If Denver hadn’t given up three points, it might have been able to overcome those mistakes.
“When we watch tape, there’s a lot of things that I look at, critique and pay close attention to,” Payton said. “It was a tough game and we didn’t do enough to win.”
The skies were still clear early in the second quarter, with the Broncos leading 7-0 and facing fourth-and-1 at the New England 14. Denver called a timeout to discuss its options. The offense returned to the court and Stidham’s pass to RJ Harvey was incomplete.
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“It just didn’t work out on that one,” said Stidham, who threw for 133 yards and a score and had an interception in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for the Patriots. “This is football.”
Late in the game, with his team trailing 10-7, Payton sent Lutz on a 45-yard punt on the ice-covered field. Leonard Taylor III took the kick.
“Unfortunately, you couldn’t see the line on the field, and honestly, I thought we were maybe a yard short on the kickoff,” Lutz said. “But you can’t see the lines on the pitch, we have to estimate.”
The Broncos are there, too. Only three teams have won a game while scoring 10 or fewer points to advance to the Super Bowl, and the Broncos were underdogs in two of those games. They also lost 10-7 to the Buffalo Bills in the 1991 AFC Championship Game, with backup quarterback Gary Kubiak replacing the injured John Elway.
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This time, Stidham started in place of Nix, who suffered an ankle injury in last week’s 33-30 overtime win over Buffalo and started the game in excellent shape. He threw a 52-yard pass to Marvin Mims Jr. and a short touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton.
Denver kept going – until New England got stopped on fourth down.
Late in the second quarter, the Patriots took advantage of Stidham’s first turnover. Under pressure from Christian Ellis, he tried to throw the ball away but was ruled to pass backwards and Elijah Ponder recovered the ball. Two plays later, Derek Meyer strolled into the end zone.
“Obviously, I can’t put our team in a bad situation like this,” Stidham said. “This is entirely my responsibility.”
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The play was initially ruled an incomplete pass and an intentional touchdown, but officials changed the call. Stidham didn’t realize he’d thrown a lateral.
“No, I thought I threw it out front,” he said.
Referee Alex Kemp explained in a pool report: “I initially ruled it was a forward pass, which was incorrect. I then called an intentional ground ball foul. The downfield official and the umpire came over to talk to me and provided more information. The downfield official explained that he extended his right arm to signal for a backward pass, at which point we determined that New England had caught the then-backward pass.”
Stidham acknowledged that he “should have eaten the sack anyway,” adding, “I couldn’t do that.”
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As the snow picked up and the wind picked up, the Patriots went on a 16-play drive to start the third quarter, eventually taking the lead on a 23-yard field goal by Andy Borregales. This was the final score for both teams in increasingly deteriorating circumstances.
“I’m dealing with it. Drake’s dealing with it,” Stidham said of the wind and snow. “You really can’t make excuses for that.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL