Sean Payton knows he may have cost the Broncos a chance at a Super Bowl.
After losing in Sunday’s AFC Championship game to the Patriots, 10-7, in what turned into a winter wonderland during the second half, where snow furiously came down sideways, Payton would love a do-over during a first-half fourth-down decision.
“I don’t know which is the greater regret, the decision — certainly the play call,” Payton said regarding a fourth-and-one decision from the Patriots’ 14-yard line while Denver was already leading 7-0.
Payton drew up a rollout pass for his backup quarterback, Jarrett Stidham, which was immediately blown up by the Patriots’ defense, and the pass to running back RJ Harvey fell incomplete, forcing a turnover on downs.
“We used a timeout,” Payton said. “Probably what irks me more is the call, more than the decision.”
The weather was still mostly clear at this point in the game. However, reports had indicated that it would be changing.
“It’s still early in the game, and we knew that there would be flurries — well, we have a new feel for flurries here,” Payton said, hinting that the weather wasn’t expected to turn as drastically as it did during the second half.
The turnover on downs would be the last time the Broncos would be in the red zone during the game, as conditions worsened and normally consistent kicker Will Lutz missed two field goals, thanks to swirling winds and snow.
“There are those moments you wish you had back,” Payton said. “I don’t pay attention to all the criticism. If I paid attention to that, I don’t know that we’d ever be in this position.”
Offense wasn’t just at a premium during the second half – it was nearly non-existent.
From that drive on, the Broncos put up just 41 yards of total offense.
The Patriots took advantage of a Stidham backwards pass that set them up deep in Broncos territory and led to a game-tying touchdown. The Patriots then drove down the field for the go-ahead field goal at the start of the third quarter.
What followed was a slew of punts, missed field goals and a game-sealing interception by Stidham that sent New England to Super Bowl 2026.
The Broncos badly missed their quarterback, Bo Nix, who is much more mobile than Stidham, who started his first game of the season for Denver.
The Patriots now face the Seahawks in Santa Clara on Feb. 8.
