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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Kristen Wong

NFL Fans Crushed Sean Payton for Costly Fourth Down Decision in Broncos’ Loss

Sean Payton Broncos NFL Patriots Jarrett Stidham Andy Borregales Denver (Organization) New England (Organization)

The Broncos saw their season end in a chilly and bitter loss to the Patriots in Sunday’s AFC championship that ultimately came down to a field goal. New England’s Andy Borregales successfully kicked his 23-yarder through the uprights in the third quarter, which ultimately proved to be the game-winning score that sent the Pats to the Super Bowl.

Long before Borregales’s momentous kick, though, Broncos coach Sean Payton had a pivotal choice to kick a field goal early in the second quarter when Denver was up 7-0. On a fourth-and-short in the Patriots’ red zone, Payton decided to go for it, but Denver ended up turning the ball over on downs after quarterback Jarrett Stidham got chased by a pair of New England defenders and couldn’t complete his pass.

Payton doubled down on his potentially game-changing decision after the loss, claiming the Broncos had the momentum and wanted to be “aggressive” in that moment.

Here’s that failed fourth down play:

Hindsight is always 20/20, but NFL fans wasted no time criticizing Payton for his costly fourth down decision. Given that the Broncos defense was playing well, and Denver’s offense needed all the points it could get, many believed Payton should have just taken the relatively easy points (the snowy conditions weren’t an issue yet) to build upon their early lead over the Patriots.

It seemed out of character for the veteran coach, too, given that Payton hasn’t been very aggressive on fourth downs in the 2025 season: the Broncos sat fourth to last in go rate in situations in which analytics suggested they should go for it:

It’s hard to place all the blame on Payton for one play in the first half when the Broncos had a few other chances to tie the game, including late in the fourth when kicker Wil Lutz’s 45-yard field goal try got blocked. For now, it looks like it’s back to the drawing board for Payton and the Broncos, who arguably have already defied expectations by clinching the AFC’s top seed and making it this far in the postseason.

More NFL on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Fans Crushed Sean Payton for Costly Fourth Down Decision in Broncos’ Loss.

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